Trans Papua Connects Sorong to Merauke

The 3,462-kilometer Trans Papua road that stretches from the bird's head in the Domberay Indigenous Territory, Sorong, West Papua, to the Bumi Anim Ha Indigenous Territory in Merauke, Papua, has begun to take shape. This infrastructure development is included in the national strategic project (PSN) and the 2020-2024 National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN).

The latest development of the thousands of kilometers that have been worked on, only 16 kilometers (km) of the Wamena-Jayapura road section are completely translucent. If the road section is completed, road access for all of Papua from west to east will be connected to Merauke in the south and Boven Digul on the border of the Republic of Indonesia-Papua New Guinea.

Infrastructure development in Papua and West Papua aims to reduce poverty, reduce the cost index, and support equitable distribution of infrastructure development. The existence of the Trans Papua Road is expected to open up regional isolation and improve connectivity between districts/cities.

In response to this, the Director General of Highways of the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) Hedy Rahadian said that currently they are focusing on completing the Jayapura-Wanena road section. The Trans Papua Road Project is coordinated by the National Road Implementing Agency.

"Trans Papua is still continuing. I find it difficult to explain how many kilometers it is because there are gradations, some have been paved, some are still dirt. If it is translucent, only a few remain. We will focus on Jayapura-Wamena first," said Hedy in Jakarta. , Friday (10/15/2021) when explaining the latest progress of the construction of the Trans Papua Road.

He admitted that the PUPR Ministry did focus on several road corridors to be cleared, considering that there are still security issues in a number of Papuan areas.

Based on the PUPR Ministry's records, until mid-2021, 3,446 km of roads have been penetrated, there are still 16 km of roads that have not been penetrated. In detail, the condition of the road that has been paved is 1,733 kilometers long and 1,712 kilometers unpaved.

The length of the Trans Papua road in Papua Province reaches 2,902 km. This includes the Merauke-Tanah Merah-Waropko roads (543 km), Waropko-Oksibil (136 km), Dekai-Oksibil (225 km), and Kenyam-Dekai (180 km). Then, Wamena-Habema-Kenyam-Mamug (295 km), Jayapura-Elelim-Wamena (585 km), Wamena-Mulia-Ilaga-Enarotali (466 km), Wagete-Timika (196 km), and Enarotali-Wagete-Nabire (285 km).

Meanwhile in West Papua, the Trans Papua Road stretches which are divided into two segments, namely Sorong-Manokwari (547.81 kilometers) and Manokwari-West Papua Province boundaries (524 kilometers). In addition, the PUPR Ministry is also building Border Roads in Papua with a total length of 1,098 km. Currently, along 931 km has been penetrated with 756 km asphalted condition.

Some time ago, PUPR Minister Basuki Hadimuljono had highlighted the construction of the Trans Papua Road which was still hampered by security factors. In fact, he believes, the presence of the national road will make the prices of basic commodities in Papua more controllable.

"We all know that from a security perspective, there are areas that are not yet conducive. It must penetrate to Wamena, otherwise the prices of basic commodities will continue to be expensive there," said Minister Basuki.

In addition, Minister Basuki also reminded contractors to be careful in building the Trans Papua Road so as not to damage it when crossing protected forests. A number of these roads pass through the Lorentz National Park which covers an area of ​​2.5 million hectares and stretches from the districts of Jayawijaya, Mimika, Asmat, Yakuhimo, and Puncak Jaya.

Lorentz National Park has a biodiversity of both native Papuan flora and fauna and local culture. Including being a center for ecotourism development. A number of large mining areas and mineral deposits are also in the bowels of the National Park, UNESCO has designated Lorenz National Park as a world heritage since 1999.

Another challenge is that the construction of the Trans Papua Road has to deal with extreme topographic conditions and minimal access to logistics. The Minister of PUPR assessed that such conditions made the cost of shipping construction equipment for the Trans Papua Road project soar.

"Bringing heavy equipment to the project site can even be more expensive than the price of the heavy equipment itself. If an excavator costs IDR 1.3 billion, the cost of lifting it to the site can be up to IDR 3 billion because it is stripped down (must be transported) by helicopter," said Minister Basuki.

The PUPR Ministry hopes that by 2024 all road corridors in West Papua and Papua will be completely paved. This includes supporting facilities such as bridges and drainage canals.

The government's commitment in the 2021 fiscal year, the Ministry of PUPR allocates a budget for infrastructure development in Papua and West Papua of up to Rp9.79 trillion.

The budget for that amount is divided for Papua Province of Rp. 6.12 trillion which will be used for water resources (SDA) of Rp. 670 billion, roads and bridges of Rp. 4.46 trillion, settlements of Rp. 650 billion and housing of Rp. 330 billion.

Meanwhile, the allocation for West Papua Province is Rp3.67 trillion, which is used for the natural resources sector, Rp600 billion, roads and bridges Rp2.54 trillion, settlements Rp320 billion and housing Rp200 billion.

The construction of the Trans Papua Road continues. Thus, the access facility for community mobility is expected to reduce the cost index, reduce poverty rates, and distribute infrastructure development evenly throughout the Cenderawasih Earth region. Connecting the provinces of Papua and West Papua as well as being the connectivity of all cities, districts, and villages throughout the land of Papua.

SOURCE: https://www.indonesia.go.id/categories/editorial/3365/menyambungkan-sorong-to-merauke