Jakarta, Sept 6 (Antara) - South Sumatra's well-known Ampera Bridge which spans 1,177 meters over the Musi River in Palembang City will be transformed into a tourism icon for the province.
As a busy landmark, the bridge, which connects the Seberang Ulu and Seberang Ilir areas of the Palembang city, will be closed to vehicles during the night time and serve as a center of culinary delicacies for local and foreign tourists.
Transforming the Ampera Bridge into a culinary tourism center is expected to attract many local and foreign tourists and boost South Sumatra's tourism development.
"South Sumatra's tourism industry will develop rapidly if many tourists visit this region," South Sumatra Governor Alex Noerdin said when providing a first lecture at a new tourism polytechnic school in Palembang on Friday (Sept 2) last week.
According to Wikipedia, the bridge was planned during the era of Indonesia's first president, who wanted a bridge that could open and be a match for London's Tower Bridge. The funds for the construction came from Japanese war reparations.
Its construction was started in April 1962 and was official opened by Minister/Commander of the Army Lieutenant General Ahmad Yani on 30 September 1965, only hours before he was killed in an abortive coup attempt by the Communist Party.
In order to preserve the bridge as a landmark and tourism icon, the regional government of South Sumatra will use it as a culinary delicacy center during the night time. After all, the construction of the Musi IV as the alternative bridge has also been completed.
Therefore, the regional government of South Sumatra will turn the Ampera Bridge into a place where people can try culinary delicacies at night.
As what Palembang City Mayor Harnojoyo said, the regional government wanted to preserve the bridge that had been in use since 1962.
It will do so by turning it into a culinary place, thus reducing its function as a bridge that connected Seberang Ulu and Seberang Ilir areas.
"If possible, the Ampera Bridge should be maintained for hundreds of years ahead. We already have an alternative bridge, the Musi IV Bridge, so the Ampera Bridge should be fully used as a tourism site and a culinary center," Harnojoyo added.
The regional government wanted that the bridge, which was constructed by Japan, is used only during day time while at night, it would be closed for vehicles and used as a center of "jajan lesehan" (eating while sitting on the floor).
This is part of the efforts to boost the tourism sector of South Sumatra. The bridge will be transformed into an icon of the Palembang City. The Palembang City has massive potential for religious tourism, culinary tourism, shopping tourism and heritage tourism.
Currently, about 35 percent of foreign tourists visit Indonesia because they are attracted by the country's natural beauty, such as its ecology and maritime.
About 60 percent are attracted by culinary delicacies, religious and heritage tourism. Creative tourism, such as performances and exhibitions, only attract about 5 percent of the foreign tourists.
Based on this data, Palembang has begun to boost its culinary tourism as one of its mainstay tourism attractions, besides religious tourism.
In order to support this, the local government is also encouraging the development of Palembang's infrastructure such as roads and bridges. After all, in 2018, Palembang will also host the 18th Asian Games.
Apart from the bridge, the banks of the Musi River are also developed to attract tourists. The river banks are now being transformed into religious tourism sites, especially in the face of the Asian Games in 2018.
According to Head of Culture and Tourism of South Sumatra, Irene Camalyn, the river banks have been developed as a religious tourism site to welcome the 18th Asian Games in 2018.
"We have already started revamping Kampung Kapitan, Kampung Arab Al-Munawar, 1 Ulu area, 10 Ulu and 34-35 Ilir. In Kampung Arab, a dock has been built, using wood, and it directly faces the river," Irene stated said in Palembang on Monday (Aug 29).
Villagers of Al Munawar, who could be affected by the government's plan to develop it as a religious tourist location were already informed.
M Safri Nungcik, the Head of Regional Development Planning Agency of Palembang, pointed out that the city government will focus on fixing Kemaro island in the city of Palembang that has become a major tourist destination.
Other than the Kemaro Island, other destinations along the river side are Kampung Kapiten, Kampung Arab Al Munawar, and various historical destinations such as Lawang Kidul Mosque and Ki Merogan Mosque.
The local government also proposed to develop river tourism in cooperation with the provincial government, by putting in order road infrastructure in general.
"If you talk about tourism, it cannot be separated from infrastructure. The local government views it as a reason why tourism is less developed here than elsewhere," Nungcik explained.
It is particularly important, given the opportunity that Palembang has to grow more rapidly through tourism, particularly when no other city in Indonesia is focusing on it.
In addition, the government also plans to develop a roadwork and drainage, and will construct public toilet facilities besides typical stores selling Palembang textile fabrics and more.
As regards, the Department of Culture and Tourism of South Sumatra has already been coordinating with the Department of Public Works, Department of Trade and Industry of South Sumatra, and other relevant agencies.
This year, the focus will be on showcasing creative ideas for travel, thus going into 2017 with a new start once budgeting funds for infrastructure are available and promotion is carried out.
The Palembang City Government's focus is on developing river tours to take advantage of the 18th Asian Games in 2018.
Palembang has a tremendous potential because it is one of the oldest cities in Indonesia and has a variety of attractions, such as culinary, shopping, religion, history and nature.***1***(A014/b003)(T.A014/A/BESSR/Bustanuddin) 07-09-2016 00:42: |
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