Merdeka Square Basement To Build Medan City Museum To Art Gallery

Medan Merdeka Square Revitalization Design, North Sumatra (North Sumatra). ANTARA/HO-Diskominfo Medan City

The Medan City Government (Pemkot) through the local Housing and Spatial Planning Office (PKPPR) explained the two-story building below the surface of Merdeka Square which is in the process of revitalizing.

"The two basements (undergrounds) built under the surface of Merdeka Square have a number of different facilities," said Head of the Medan City PKPPR Service, Endar Sutan Lubis, as reported by ANTARA, Thursday, May 25.

Apart from cinemas, he said, there are many more places below the surface of Merdeka Square to become a historic field, green open space and cultural heritage.

Under the Dutch-era field surface, it was called de Esplanade and Fukuraido when Japan came to power, two basement floors built 425 four-wheeled parking spaces and 381 two-wheeled parking spaces.

"The 1st floor standings has an area of 20,290 square meters, while the basement area is 2nd floor or the ground floor is 21,369 square meters," said Endar.

The Head of Building Planning and Environment of the Medan City PKPPR Office, Ikhwanza Syahputra, admitted that in the basement of the 1st floor there are police stations, management offices for cultural heritage areas, Medan City Museum and City Planning Gallery.

The 1st floor also has an area for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) as many as eight units and retail 23 units. "The 1st floor standings have two-wheeled and four-wheeled parking areas, prayer rooms and are equipped with public toilets," he said.

Meanwhile, on the 2nd floor basement, he said, there is the Medan City Government Hall, art galleries, auditoriums in the form of two theater studios and MSME areas for eight units.

"This is in accordance with PP (Government Regulation) No. 7/2021 which states that every public space (public space) must accommodate space for MSMEs at least 30 percent," he said.

In the basement of the 2nd floor also has a retail area of 25 units, waste and waste processing rooms, as well as utility rooms such as generators, panels, building operational control, and mechanics.

"Musala and public toilets are also in the basement of the 2nd floor," he said.

His party has also anticipated flooding in the basement using a 'long storage' system with a capacity of 48,000 cubic meters and rehabilitated installed drainage.

"Water that enters the 'long storage' is channeled partly to the city's drainage system to be forwarded to the Deli River, while some others are used to 'flush close the bathroom and water garden vegetation," said Ikhwanza.