Public-Private Partnership Concept in Utilizing Heritage Buildings in the Semarang Old City Regeneration, Indonesia

In recent years, the government has regenerated heritage areas of the city centre of Semarang where it has rebuilt the area’s damaged infrastructure. This activity is intended to save cultural heritage areas. The development has included some heritage building owners; there are still several heritage buildings owned by State Owned Enterprises that remain stalled. The article aims to examine the concept application of public-private partnership (PPP) in the regeneration of the old city of Semarang. Qualitative interviews were conducted with informants with experience handling heritage buildings, and secondary data analysis was conducted on the PPP concept. The research results show that investors who typically engage in this activity have a set of fairly consistent characteristics, and the interviews showed three primary findings. First, the investors tend to care more about historical buildings, not only financial gain, but also social impact and environmental sustainability. Second, Heritage buildings belonging SOEs haven’t yet collaborated with the private. Third, there is potential for structured PPP such as the feasibility of heritage buildings, and the heritage guarantee agency supervises government-owned cultural heritage buildings. This article suggests that involving sponsorship can enhance the effectiveness of the PPP concept for state-owned heritage buildings.