A 1.8-hectare lot near the Jakarta Convention Center, belonging to the Senayan complex managing company, will be jointly managed as a seedling park to meet the need for plants to green the city.

It will initially be a seedling center for the agency, but in the future we will expand it into a venue that can host international flora exhibitions," Gelora Bung Karno managing company director Indra Setiawan said Tuesday.

The city's annual flora exhibition is currently held in Central Jakarta's Lapangan Banteng.

After this (park) succeeds, we will open another one just as big across from it," he said.

The proposed sites are situated on both sides of the Senayan complex's entrance, which faces the TVRI building.

Such a gesture, Indra said, is part of a public-private synergy to emphasize the need for more green spaces in the city.

Currently, Jakarta has some identified 7,250 hectares (9 percent) of open green spaces.

The city's spatial plan stipulates that the percentage of open green spaces be increased to 13.94 percent by 2010, a lower target than the 26 percent stated in the city's 1985-2005 spatial plan.

However, in practice it might be easier said than done as more green spaces have been converted into commercial premises.

The conversion rate of parks in 2004 was recorded at 55 percent in West Jakarta and almost 25 percent in South Jakarta, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reported.

A number of blocks of land in the Senayan complex itself, which were originally designated green areas, are now the sites of malls and hotels.

Governor Sutiyoso said previously no more green areas in Senayan would be converted for other purposes.

City parks agency head Sarwo Handayani said the seedling center would focus on plant species suitable for establishing more parks in the city.

"The seedlings won't be for sale, but the public is welcome to enjoy a leisurely stroll among them," she said.

Source : Anissa S. Febrina, The Jakarta Post , Jakarta