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‘Monas development never been completed’: City marches on with revitalization project
The city has come under fire for cutting down almost 200 trees, accusations involving the contractor's dubious credibility and paperwork issues.
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The South Plaza of the National Monument (Monas) in Jakarta remains denuded of tree on Jan. 20. The provincial government of Greater Jakarta cut down 190 trees down to pave a plaza and the development has resulted in reduced rainwater absorption because the dirt is largely being replaced by concrete. JP/Dhoni Setiawan/sas/20 (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
T
he Jakarta administration is insisting the controversial work at the National Monument (Monas) in Central Jakarta, is being done to complete an unfinished government project.
The city has come under fire for cutting down almost 200 trees, accusations involving the contractor's dubious credibility and paperwork issues.
City secretary Saefullah said the government’s development plan for Monas, stipulated in Presidential Decree No. 25/1995 on the development of Jakarta's Medan Merdeka area, was never completed after the iconic Jakarta site was established in 1961.
“Monas' development has never been completed. There has never been in our history a president officially launching the complete Monas. That's why we carry it out. [The design] refers to the said presidential decree,” Saefullah told reporters in a press conference at City Hall on Friday.
“Please wait until mid-February. There would be shady view toward Monas from the plaza,” he said. “So, we are actually looking after the icon of Jakarta.”
The design of the development plan, as stipulated in the presidential decree, includes the southern part of the complex, where part of the revitalization project is currently taking place. It was designated as public space that the administration interpreted should be a paved plaza with a large pond.
“The pond will be complemented with beams of lights [toward the monument] from lamps placed inside the pond,” the project contractor PT Bahana Prima Nusantara president director Muhidin Salihin said in a press conference on Thursday.
