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Kota Tua in final stretch in bid to become UNESCO heritage site
Preservation effort: An old building undergoes renovation in Kota Tua, West Jakarta
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Preservation effort: An old building undergoes renovation in Kota Tua, West Jakarta. The Jakarta Old Town Revitalization Corporation (JOTRC) will nominate Kota Tua for UNESCO world heritage status in January.(JP/P.J. Leo) (JOTRC) will nominate Kota Tua for UNESCO world heritage status in January.(JP/P.J. Leo)
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span class="inline inline-center">Preservation effort: An old building undergoes renovation in Kota Tua, West Jakarta. The Jakarta Old Town Revitalization Corporation (JOTRC) will nominate Kota Tua for UNESCO world heritage status in January.(JP/P.J. Leo)
West Jakarta's Kota Tua is set to enter the final stage of the UNESCO world heritage nomination process after a year of preparation, with the Jakarta Old Town Revitalization Corporation (JOTRC) to make the final submission in January.
The JOTRC's Tamalia Alisjahbana said recently that the world heritage committee would take more than a year to consider the nomination, volunteered by the JOTRC along with the city administration, before announcing its decision.
'I expect [UNESCO] to announce the result around mid-2017. We hope Kota Tua will make the cut,' Tamalia told reporters during a press conference.
The 1.3 square-kilometer area known as Kota Tua that stands today is the core of the colonial-era city of Batavia ' a roughly square complex located near the coast and intersected by the Ciliwung River. Many of the area's historical sites are deteriorating, although restoration efforts are underway.
If Kota Tua passes the final selection process, it will be Indonesia's ninth site to be named a UNESCO World Heritage List.
The current eight world heritage sites are Borobudur temple in Magelang, Central Java; Komodo National Park in West Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara; Prambanan temple in Sleman, Yogyakarta; Ujung Kulon National Park in West Java; Sangiran Early Man Site in Central Java; Lorentz National Park in Papua; Sumatra's tropical rainforests; and the cultural landscape of Bali.
According to Tamalia, prior to the nomination, Kota Tua had to compete with other national sites including the Banda Neira Islands in Maluku, the old town of Semarang in Central Java and Sawahlunto in West Sumatra.
The World Heritage List is composed of sites deemed by UNESCO to have special cultural or physical significance. The list currently consists of 1,031 properties from 163 countries, including famous landmarks such as the Taj Mahal in India and Jeddah, the Gate of Mecca, in Saudi Arabia.
JOTRC president director Lin Che Wei said that during the nomination process, the sites' physical condition was not the most important criteria, adding that what would count most was the government or administration's plans to preserve the historical site.
The JOTRC, the Jakarta administration and the Jakarta Endowment for Arts and Heritage (Jeforah) group are engaged in joint efforts to preserve Kota Tua and revitalize it into a sustainable cultural-tourism destination.
'We have a clear plan on this, and a number of restoration projects are currently underway,' Lin said.
He added that he would strive to ensure that all restoration efforts enhanced the area's historical value.
However, if Kota Tua did make it onto the list, he went on, the city administration and the people of Jakarta would have a lot of work to do, as inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List could be a double-edged sword.
'[If we succeed] we will have a lot more tourists than we have now, which could be dangerous to the site unless we work hard to maintain the area,' Lin said.
According to official data, 310,506 people visited Kota Tua between January and August this year, a significant increase from 213,000 visitors in the same period in 2014.
