The historical Sunda Kelapa Port will be the first site to receive a face lift in the Old Town (Kota Tua) revitalization program.

The plan follows the rebirth of the old Pos Indonesia building as a new gallery, the Jakarta Art Space.

The Jakarta Old Town Revitalization Corporation (JOTRC), a consortium of private and state-owned enterprises including state port operator Pelindo II, has agreed to make the trading port a proper tourism site.

JOTRC chairman Lin Che Wei said on Tuesday that Pelindo II, also known as IPC, had signed an agreement to become a founding member of the JOTRC and a cultural group, the Jakarta Endowment for Art and Heritage (Jeforah), and to play its part in the revitalization of the 33-hectare port in North Jakarta.

'€œThe company also agreed to fund the port makeover master plan,'€
he said.

According to Lin, JOTRC and IPC will begin other projects that will kick start the Sunda Kelapa Port program.

Sunda Kelapa is the city'€™s oldest port and serves inter-island ships. However, IPC, the port operator, has yet to tap into the true potential of the port, leaving it messy, unclean and fetid because of the pungent, polluted sea.

Nevertheless, many tourists and photographers, visit the port to enjoy the wooden ships that dock there and its colonial buildings.

Lin said that initially, the consortium would renovate three old warehouses near the entrance to the port.

'€œThe company has generally agreed with the project but we have to discuss the fine details of the project further,'€ he said, adding that, personally, he targeted the project to be finished within six months.

Lin, who is also a market analyst, said the consortium also forwarded several suggestions to IPC, including the dedication of Sunda Kelapa to wooden ships, which were more visually striking.

'€œWe also suggest installing public art around the port to lure more tourists,'€ he said.

Lin said it was also important to enliven the commercial activities around the port, like building seafood restaurants, souvenir centers and spaces for meeting, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE) activities.

The analyst said the port was currently ill-maintained and in a state of disrepair, thus, much work was needed, especially if the purpose was for tourism.

JOTRC, currently groups 11 companies, including Saratoga Capital; Central Cipta Murdaya Group; PT Jababeka; PT Agung Podomoro Group; PT Agung Sedayu Group; PT Ciputra Surya; PT Intiland; PT Plaza Indonesia Realty; IPC and; PT Pos Indonesia.

JOTRC is tasked to develop the city physically with the renovation of old buildings, while Jeforah will be responsible for cultural activities in Old Town, part of a 15-hectare complex built by the Dutch in 1620.

Half of the 280 historic buildings in Old Town are owned by individuals, 134 by state-owned companies and six under the administration'€™s care.

The consortium has targeted to revitalize 85 buildings within five years, beginning with Pos Indonesia'€™s building on Fatahillah Square.

The second floor of the building is now an art gallery where visitors can enjoy well-known works of art.

The beginning of the whole project was marked with the two-day Fiesta Fatahillah, the opening of the Jakarta Art Space gallery and a six-month long exhibition on March 13.

The exhibition boasts 47 prominent artists including Agus Suwage, Nasirun, Entang Wiharso, Dolorosa Sinaga, FX Harsono and Davy
Linggar.

The consortium also provided a visitor center, a place for the public to get to know the project better, on the first floor of the building.

'€œA number of people, especially the owners of the buildings, have registered their interest in revitalizing their buildings,'€ Lin said.

Jakarta Tourism Agency head Arie Budiman said the city administration would also help build the infrastructure around the historic city.

'€œThe city administration only owns 4 percent of the buildings in Kota Tua, so it is impossible to revive the decaying city if private firms and owners do not take part,'€ he said.

Arie said that as the JOTRC was focusing on the development of the buildings and reviving the commercial activities, the city would focus on the infrastructure.

'€œWe will build parking lots and manage the traffic,'€ he said.

Many experts consider the biggest challenge of the revitalization project is the city'€™s traffic, which makes the area hard to access.

Arie said the Transportation Agency had started to reroute traffic.

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