The Government Has Prepared An Integrated Solo Cultural Center Development Plan With The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque

Photo: Doc. Antara

JAKARTA - The government is preparing a plan to build the Solo Cultural Center, a community activity center that will be integrated with the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Surakarta City, Central Java Province.

Surakarta Mayor Gibran Rakabuming Raka in Solo, Sunday, January 15, said that the government was taking care of preparations for the construction of the Solo Cultural Center, including freeing up the land needed to build the facility.

"We take care of it together with the relevant ministries. There are proposals for additional parking spaces as well," he said, quoted from Antara.

Initially the Islamic Center would be built integrated with the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, but then decided to build the Solo Cultural Center so that facilities could be used by all groups.

"The direction is tolerance, so that everyone can enjoy it," said Gibran.

Like Al Zayed Grand Mosque, the Solo Cultural Center will be built using grant funds from the President of the United Arab Emirates Mohamed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan.

Representatives from Muhammad Bin Zayed University in the United Arab Emirates have visited Solo to discuss plans to build community activities facilities.

The management and maintenance of the Solo Cultural Center will later be carried out using funds from the Surakarta City Government.

The Mayor of Surakarta has not been able to convey with certainty when the Solo Cultural Center will begin construction.

Meanwhile, when asked about the plan to open the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque to the public, the mayor said, "Just wait, the important thing is that this was already an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding)."

According to him, there is still construction work that must be completed at the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque complex, which was inaugurated by President Joko Widodo and President of the United Arab Emirates Mohamed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan on November 14, 2022.