TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Tourism Minister Arif Yahya said the revitalization of Kota Tua area was among his ministry’s priority programs.
“The planned revitalization has been confirmed by related parties. I will fully support this revitalization at the ministerial level,” Yahya told Tempo in Kota Tua Jakarta on Wednesday, October 29, 2014.
Yahya also pledged to convene a meeting involving State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) Minister Rini Soemarno and officials from the Jakarta Public Works Agency to discuss the program. “I will continue to inform all parties,” he said.
Most of the buildings in Kota Tua area belong to the SOE Ministry, while there rest are owned by private parties and government institutions. Arief said he was confident the first stage of revitalization would be concluded in 2016.
Earlier, Jakarta Tourism Agency chief Arie Budhiman said 34 building owners in the area had promised they would renovate their buildings to welcome the 2018 Asian Games. Most of the buildings will be used as museums, galleries, hotels and restaurants.
“We are expecting high revenue in the tourism sector through the existence of those buildings,” Arie told Tempo on Wednesday, October 29, 2014.
Jakarta is bound to be teeming with foreign tourists in the 2014 Asian Games. “That is why the revitalization of Kota Tua should be completed by 2016, to become one of Jakarta’s attractions,” Arid said.
PERSIANA GALIH
