Kupastuntas.co, Bandar Lampung - The Elephant Park Green Open Space (RTH) in Enggal, Bandar Lampung, which was built by the Lampung Provincial Government with a budget of IDR12 billion, is now just a memory. The area's assets are currently in the process of being demolished, to build the Great Mosque of Al Bakrie Lampung.

Monitoring at the Elephant Park location on Tuesday (20/6/23), a number of workers were dismantling some of the remaining buildings. Two heavy excavators were also seen working to bring down the building to the ground.

One of the facilities being demolished is a playground. Several police personnel and the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) were also seen standing guard around the Elephant Park location.

When met, Firnando, as the supervisor of work at the location, said that currently the demolition of buildings in Elephant Park is still underway.

"Yes, now we are in the stage of demolishing the buildings. After completion, we will proceed to the process of building the Great Mosque of Al Bakrie Lampung," said Firnando, Tuesday (20/6).

Firnando revealed that the demolition process is expected to take one month. After that, the development process will continue. "As for the construction process, it is estimated to be completed in 2024," he said.

Tiara (34), a local trader, said that the process of dismantling Elephant Park had been carried out since the last few months.

"But I don't know what stage the demolition has reached, because it's a zinc fence around it. So not just anyone can see inside," said Tiara.

For information, RTH Elephant Park was built during the era of the Governor of Lampung, M Ridho Ficardo, occupying 15,000 square meters of Red Square and the Enggal Art Market belonging to the Lampung Provincial Government.

The construction is carried out in three stages. Phase I construction was carried out in 2017 worth IDR 7 billion. Facilities built include open parks, basketball courts, skateboards, fountains, prayer rooms, and seniors' parks.

Then, phase II construction was carried out in 2018 with a budget of IDR 5 billion. The facilities built are the Kids Park, which is an open space and children's playground that blends with nature. The third phase of development in 2019 will be in the form of parking area facilities and a green open park.

All facilities at Elephant Park were inaugurated directly by the Governor of Lampung at that time M. Ridho Ficardo on 17 February 2019.

On that occasion, Ridho stated that urban areas must have green open spaces as the lungs of the city and a place for people's self-actualization. Elephant Park was built with the aim of providing a sense of comfort for the community to gather with family.

After being inaugurated, Elephant Park is also often used as a venue for live music that can be enjoyed by all residents of Bandar Lampung.

Maher, an expert on the construction of Elephant Park, said that the provincial government is building Elephant Park so that it can become a new landmark or icon in the city of Bandar Lampung. The place can be used both for the younger generation and adults.

Meanwhile, Public Policy Observer at the University of Lampung (Unila), Dedy Hermawan, said that the demolition of Elephant Park and Saburai Sports Hall did not involve community participation in giving approval or rejecting it.

"The development seems top-down, does not involve community participation, then there is no comprehensive study. The direction of development for the province and the city should strengthen each other. The (Elephant Park) should be an arena for public space for the residents of Bandar Lampung City," said Dedy, Tuesday ( 20/6).

Moreover, continued Dedy, there is already the Al-Furqon Great Mosque which is not far from the construction site of the Great Mosque of Al Bakrie Lampung and a number of other mosques. So actually the needs of houses of worship can be fulfilled by the mosques in the vicinity.

According to him, the community did not know anything about the plan to build the Great Al Bakrie Mosque in Lampung, and it was only an initiative by the provincial government.

"Unfortunately the provincial government does not take sides with the interests of the community, prioritizing the wishes of a group of people. Even though the construction of the mosque can be shifted to another location that is more strategic than the local location. The governor should have discussed with the city government and local residents where the mosque should be built," he said

Dedy explained, the determination of the point of construction of the Great Mosque of Al Bakrie Lampung was not known on the basis of what considerations, so it was built at the Elephant Park and GOR Saburai locations.

"The location point there, do not know what the considerations are? Maybe look for a place that is already crowded with shops, crowded with residential areas, entertainment venues. There are no sociological studies, no environmental studies, no economics, no religious aspects either. So this is very unfortunate," he said.

He said the provincial government should be able to direct and utilize government assets for more appropriate use. Don't give the impression that the development was just carried out.

Dedi revealed, it is very possible that if the Governor of Lampung later changes, then the policy can change again, including the matter of the construction of the Great Al Bakrie Mosque in Lampung.

"All of these possibilities can happen. Therefore, the development should comply with the spatial plan, there is sustainable development that is sustainable and does not cancel each other out. So the spatial planning is regulated," he said.

He hopes that the local government in preparing development planning is oriented towards strategic and long-term matters, and does not cancel each other out.

"The governor had previously built Elephant Park, it was suddenly destroyed and of course there will be loss of assets. Huge financial losses, it's just a waste. Therefore the provincial government and DPRD must obey the principles, obey regulations, don't want to destroy each other. If no, then practices like this can still occur in the next period. This is a fact of bad practice," said Dedy.

Dedy suggested, if the construction of Masjid Raya Al Bakrie Lampung can still be canceled it would be better if it was cancelled. However, if this is not possible, then the Lampung provincial government needs to be serious about building the mosque.

"If it continues, the provincial government must be serious in its development, the quality must be good, it must be multifunctional both socially and economically and provide benefits to its surroundings," he said. (*)

This news has been published in Kupas Tuntas daily newspaper, Wednesday 21 June 2023 edition with the title "Elephant Park Worth 12 Billion Remains Memories"