President Jokowi to Inaugurate Time Capsule Monument in Merauke
President Joko Jokowi Widodo on Friday (16/11) is scheduled to inaugurate the time capsule monument in Merauke, Papua.
The 2.5-hectare monument is located near Mopah Airport and will be Meraukes new landmark that can be seen from every airplane landing at the airport.
“The progress of monument construction is 100 percent and it is ready to be inaugurated by the President on tomorrow morning. The monument captures the messages and hopes of Indonesian children for the next 70 years,” Minister of Public Works and Public Housing Basuki Hadimuljono said in Merauke, Thursday (15/11).
Basuki further said that the 2015-2085 Indonesian Dream stored in the monument came from young people from all provinces in Indonesia.
“Dreams stored in the time capsule were collected in 2015 through an expedition to 34 provinces. In each province, those young people write their hopes for the next 70 years, which are then stored and welded here, and will be opened in 2085,” the Minister explained.
“The construction of the time capsule monument shows great attention and appreciation from President Jokowi for the Papuan people, especially for residents of Merauke,” Minister Basuki concluded.
For the record, the time capsule monument is built by Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing through the Green Open Space program starting in 2016 and is financed by the State Budget.
The stage I of the construction is carried out in 2016 to build the foundation of the monument with budget of Rp7 billion. The stage II started from July 2017 and was completed in November 2018 with budget of Rp82.9 billion. The contractor of the project is state-owned enterprise construction company PT. Nindya Karya.
The architecture of the monument, designed by principal architect Yori Antar Awal, adopts elements of Papuan culture. The time capsule will be placed on top of a monument inspired by Dani (a local tribe) war tower, with five entry access that represent five indigenous Merauke tribes (Malind, Muyu, Mandobo, Mappi and Auyu), functioning as time capsule guards.
The monument are 17 meters wide, 8 meters high and 45 meters long and those numbers have special meaning for Indonesia, representing the date, month and year of the countrys independence.
The interior of the monument is decorated with reliefs showing the journey of the Republic of Indonesia, its national ideology Pancasila, and Papuan culture. Of the total area of ??the monument, 1.5 hectare will be used as a city square.
In addition to being a public open space and tourist attraction for the residents of Merauke, the capsule time monument is expected to generate local economic growth.
The idea for ??building the monument is part of the Ayo Kerja (Lets go to work) movement which was initiated by a musician Abdi Negara as part of civil society movement, and was approved by President Jokowi to become a national movement to realize the dreams and hopes of the young generation towards a developed Indonesia. (BKP Kementerian PUPR/EN)
Translated by: Ridwan Ibadurrohman
Edited by: Ersan Pamungkas