TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Capital to have world-class theme park
Jakarta will have an international theme park built to lure upper class domestic tourists onto future artificial islets off the cityâs coast
Change Size
J
akarta will have an international theme park built to lure upper class domestic tourists onto future artificial islets off the city's coast.
City-owned developer PT Pembangunan Jaya Ancol president director Gatot Setyo Waluyo said that the project also aimed to improve the image of the Ancol area in North Jakarta ' infamous for its slums and as an area prone to crime.
'We aim to develop an international-standard theme park on the planned artificial islets. In the future we also plan to work together with an international operator. We are now assessing the options,' Gatot told reporters after a plenary session on the matter at city council on Monday. When asked, Gatot declined to reveal which international operators have been in talks with the city-owned enterprise.
He said the new theme park would be an international destination in the capital.
'We tentatively call it Dufan [Dunia Fantasi] Ocean, which will target upper class visitors. It will have a lot of ocean-related rides and it will have different rides than those of the existing theme park, Dufan in Ancol,' he said.
The company estimated that the project, which will be built on a 16-hectare plot of land, would cost up to Rp 1.6 trillion (US$137 million) to start.
'The first stage of the theme park will require Rp 1.6 trillion,' he said, adding that the construction would begin in 2016 after the reclamation project was completed. The theme park is expected to be operational in 2018.
The construction of the theme park will be followed by the development of the area, which will include the construction of hotels, other supporting infrastructure and public transportation.
Gatot said, however, that the company has yet to determine the source of funds to finance the project.
'The options include issuing rights or obligations, or forming a strategic partnership. We are assessing the options,' he said.
The new theme park will be able to accommodate double the visitors of Dufan.
As part of the plan, the city administration is currently proposing to inject Rp 5 trillion into the company.
The additional investment was necessary for Pembangunan Jaya Ancol as a public company to ensure that the city administration's shares would not be diluted should the enterprise issue rights in the future.
Deputy Governor Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama said that the planned world-class theme park would provide an alternative entertainment option for upper-class domestic tourists.
'At the moment, where do rich locals go to for holidays? Singapore, Hong Kong, even Japan. If we have a world-class theme park they will go there instead,' he said.
Ahok emphasized that the theme park would boast entertainment and educative zones.
The city administration predicts an annual 17 percent increase in Pembangunan Jaya Ancol's income over seven years, from Rp 1.42 trillion in 2013 to Rp 3.98 trillion in 2020.
Meanwhile, the city assumes an annual 27 percent rise in profits from Rp 192.19 billion to Rp 1.03 trillion during the same period.
Pembangunan Jaya Ancol is expected to contribute up to Rp 454.19 billion to the city's income by 2020 ' up annually by 18 percent from Rp 140.67 billion in 2013.
