The President made the visit to review Solo Safari, formerly the Solo Zoo or Taru Jurug Animal Park (TSTJ), at the invitation of Surakarta Mayor Gibran Rakabuming Raka. The renovated park is planned to be opened to the public on January 27, 2023.
"I was invited by the Mayor to see the revamping of Jurug Park; now it has become Solo Safari. Even though it has not been completed, it looks like it will be very good and become a new tourist destination in the region," he remarked in a statement received here on Monday.
He also lauded the Surakarta city government's efforts to revitalize productive assets in the region. The President informed that he had received a report from Mayor Raka regarding a number of amusement and educational parks that have been and will be built in the area.
"I was told by Mayor Raka that the regional government has also prepared Balekambang, a night market at Gatot Subroto, and a Techno Park for young people as well," he said.
On the same occasion, the general manager of Solo Safari, Shinta Aditya, said she believes that the place will become a new icon in Surakarta city.
Solo Safari marks a shift from purely culinary tours to other kinds of tours in Surakarta, she added.
"All this time, people visited this city only for culinary trips. In the near future, we hope Solo Safari can bring in many tourists to stay longer in the city and become an icon of Surakarta," she added.
She informed that phase I of TSTJ's revitalization has reached 90 percent and it will be opened as Solo Safari on January 27.
“Hopefully, the local residents can enjoy the facility we have prepared for them," she added.
The revitalization of TSTJ into Solo Safari was announced by Mayor Raka on February 22, 2022. The park has been renovated at a cost of more than Rp20 billion in collaboration with Taman Safari Indonesia.
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Translator: Gilang Galiartha, Resinta S
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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