TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan has spoken up the reasons for the hotel construction as part of the revitalization project of Taman Ismail Marzuki arts and cultural center in Cikini, Central Jakarta. Anies said that the hotel would serve as a guesthouse for tourists or artists visiting the iconic park.

"[The plan] has been discussed since almost a year ago. The planning takes a long time, too," said Anies at Biro Hotel, Monday night, November 25.

According to him, the provincial government’s plan to revive the TIM area was not only aimed to establish it as arts and cultural venues or meeting places but also to accommodate artists who hailed from various regions in the country and abroad.

"Because this [park] is indeed considered an ecosystem. The guesthouse for artists is also designed to be a place that backs cultural activities," the governor added.

He hoped the city’s iconic would be an international center for arts and culture. "We want this place as one of the nodes of our cultural ecosystem," Anies remarked.

A number of art activists strongly against the city administration’s plans to build a five-star hotel. An artist Imam Ma'aruf opined there was no urgency to build hotels in the central area of the arts and culture.

"What is the reason? It is feared there will be a commercialization of TIM," Imam told Tempo on Sunday, November 24.

The hotel construction, he added, was a commercial business, and that would be different should the local government wanted to build a guesthouse for artists.

Imam expressed concern that the hotel would keep artists away from their ‘homes’. Moreover, in contrast to what Anies Baswedan said, the initial concept of the revitalization design won by Andra Matin did not include a hotel construction plan.

"There is no such thing as a five-star hotel (drafted in the initial design of the Taman Ismail Marzuki revitalization)," Imam underlined.

IMAM HAMDI