HOUSE URGES MILITARY, POLICE TO ARREST BRIDGE WORKERS' KILLERS

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Dec 4 (Antara) - The House of Representatives (DPR) urged the military and police to hunt down the murderers who killed 31 company workers at a bridge construction site, Trans-Papua highway project, Papua Province, on Monday.          "I condemn the murder of workers in Papua by members of Armed Criminal Croup (KKB). I urge the security officers to resolve the barbaric act and arrest the perpetrators soon," House Speaker Bambang Soesatyo said here on Tuesday.          Commission I of the House will ask the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) commander to explain the incident. "Surely, the Commission I will ask the TNI commander and the Indonesian Police chief to explain the steps they are taking to follow up with the murder and to arrest the perpetrators," Soesatyo stressed.          President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) ordered the TNI commander and the National Police chief to check the latest conditions in Nduga, Papua Province, after the shooting incident.          Jokowi instructed TNI Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto and the National Police Head General Tito Karnavian, after it was reported that the KKB on Sunday kidnapped 31 PT Istaka Karya workers and killed them.

PAPUA TO ENTER E-COMMERCE ERA AMID ECONOMIC PROGRESS

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Dec 8 (Antara) - E-commerce is developing in Indonesia's big cities, but some isolated areas in its eastern regions, such as Papua, have yet to enjoy the benefits of the online trade facility due to an inadequate telecommunication system.          However, the country's eastern regions, which are still isolated and yet to be fully connected through fiber optic cables, will be able to enjoy online trade when support facilities for the Palapa Ring are installed at the designated locations.          Palapa Ring is a national fiber optic network construction project that will cover as many as 34 provinces and 440 cities and districts across Indonesia, with a total sea cable length of 35,280 kilometers, and a mainland cable length reaching as much as 21,807 kilometers.          To this end, the Young Entrepreneurs Association of Papua (HIPMI Papua) has reminded that Papua will soon enter the e-commerce era after supporting facilities for the Palapa Ring project become operational.          The Palapa Ring project is being developed and is expected to be completed by 2018.          "With the completion of the Palapa Ring project, I think, Papua will change. Development in the e-commerce sector will be boosted. Our entrepreneur friends should thus be alert and prepared to garner benefits from this condition," Chairman of the Executive Board of HIPMI Papua Dasril Sahari stated in Jayapura, the provincial capital of Papua, on Wednesday (Dec 6).

MEDIA SHOULD SUPPORT PAPUA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Nov 30 (Antara) - All parties, including social organizations, legislators, and the media, need to support the economic development being carried out by the government in Papua, which is an underdeveloped province in eastern Indonesian region.         Hence, various circles, such as social organizations, politicians, and the media, should support the efforts of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) in developing various infrastructure facilities in the Indonesian easternmost province.         The mass and social media should play their influential role in building the people's optimism and nationalism regarding the development in Papua.          According to Bobby Adhityo Rizaldi, a member of Commission I of the House of Representatives (DPR) from the Golkar Party Faction, the massive infrastructure development being carried out in Papua portrays the efforts of Jokowi's government in advancing and developing the mining resource-rich province.         The legislator stated that the construction of the 4,330-kilometer-Trans-Papua Highway (that connects Papua with West Papua), bridges, airports, and dams is proof of the massive infrastructure development that would change the face of Papua and boost its economic activities in the coming years.

GOVT CONTINUES TO PROVIDE ECONOMIC JUSTICE IN PAPUA

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Nov 19 (Antara) - Papua Province is one of Indonesia's underdeveloped provinces in the eastern region which the government of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has given a priority in his current development programs.          Compared with other provinces in the western part of the country,  Papua suffers a sharp gap and inequality in its economic life. Due to the lack of infrastructure and land transportation facilities, prices of commodities are far higher than those in the rest of the country's provinces.       The price of cement, for instance, is about Rp800 thousand - Rp2.5 million per bag while in Java it is only about Rp70 thousand - Rp80 thousand per  bag. Gasoline can reach Rp60 thousand per litter while in other regions the price of fuel oil is only approximately Rp6,500 per litter.         Hence, the government is now focusing its attention on the development in Papua in efforts to eliminate social economic injustices. One of the efforts to build economic justice is to lay the foundation of the economic activities by developing infrastructure.         Although there is criticism in the development of the Trans-Papua Road, President Jokowi is firm that the project will facilitate the economic activities and improve the welfare of the people in the country's easternmost province. He asked the Regional Representative Council (DPD) to support his infrastructure development program in Papua.

PAPUA'S ECONOMY SLOWING DOWN

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Nov 9 (Antara) - The economy of Indonesia's easternmost province of Papua is slowing down, although it has been flourishing in recent years under the administration of President Joko Wododo (Jokowi).          In 2015, for example, Papua saw an economic growth of 7.47 percent. It shot up last year to 9.21 percent, almost double the national average figure of 4.95 percent.          The high economic growth was because of the government's attention towards the development of Papua's infrastructure, improvement of its welfare and health facilities, as well as the launch of the single-fuel price program. Papua is one of Jokowi's top priorities.          He has many plans to make sure that the rapid growth in Papua keeps going, such as single-fuel price, Trans Papua Road, Sea Toll, Sorong Special Economic Zone, and others. He hopes to bring positive changes in Papua, even if at a slower pace.          "We can see that there is a decrease in poverty rates in Papua Province," Papua Governor Lukas Enembe was quoted by papuanews.org as saying last year.          However, the decline in the food crop production and public expenditure, as well as the prolonged contractual dispute between the government and PT Preeport Indonesia, which prompted the giant miner to temporarily suspend production, has resulted in slow economic growth in Papua.          The subsidiary of the US-based Freeport McMoRan has been in a dispute with the government, following the issuance of new regulations that oblige the company to convert its contract of work into a special mining license, divest 51 percent of its shares, and build a new smelter.

JOKOWI MUST FOCUS ON INFRASTRUCTURE IN EASTERN REGION

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Oct 21 (Antara) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) should continue to push for his development program in the infrastructure sector in the eastern region of the country based on his Nawacita development priorities.         Infrastructure development in the eastern region, particularly in Papua and West Papua, is very crucial to increase connectivity and improve the welfare of the local people.         "We hope the efforts to develop the eastern region would not slow down. Please let Pak (Mr) Jokowi accelerate the development in the remaining two years of his term," Andi Rukmana Karumpa of Indonesian Chamber of Commerce (Kadin) said in a statement in Jakarta on Saturday.         Politics, which will begin to heat up in the face of the presidential race in 2019, should not hamper the infrastructure development program. After all, many countries have been on track in the development of their infrastructure.         "Even China, in several ways, has surpassed the US, but we are still embroiled in an endless political squabble," Karumpa pointed out. He expressed hope that all parties would maintain political stability in the last two years of Jokowi administration to ensure that the government is able to function more peacefully.

PAPUA FOCUSES ON AIR INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Oct 12 (Antara) - The geographical conditions of the Indonesian easternmost province of Papua, especially in the remote areas, pose difficulties for land transportation, forcing the government to pay attention to the development of infrastructure for air transportation.          The means of transportation to reach remote areas in the mountainous regions in Papua is by small airplanes or helicopters. Hence, Papua continues to develop its airports or airstrips to facilitate the arrival of small planes or helicopters.          In Mimika District, for example, the government is developing the Hoeya and Bela airstrips in Jila subdistrict. Besides that, in Biak Numfor District, the Frans Kaisiepo International Airport is also being developed as a hub for air cargoes, apart from serving air passengers.          The Ministry of Transportation also continues to develop air transportation safety system, considering the difficult geographical conditions of regions in eastern Indonesia.         For this, the United States has also provided assistance worth US$1 million for the development of flight safety in the Indonesian eastern region, especial in Papua and Maluku provinces.         Head of Regional Transportation Service of Mimika District, John Rettob, stated in Timika early this month that Papua continued to develop the two airports of Hoeya and Bela in Jila subdistrict.

SECURITY ISSUES HINDER INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT IN PAPUA

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Sept 9 (Antara) - The Indonesian government, in its efforts to advance the local economy, is launching massive infrastructure development in Papua despite the Indonesian easternmost province sometimes experiencing unfavorable security conditions.          President Joko Widodo, who had visited the province recently, said reducing isolation, creating new jobs, alleviating poverty, carrying out equitable development, and increasing the human development index are parts of the government's efforts to overcome challenges in Papua Province.          One of the most important infrastructure development projects undertaken in the province is the construction of the Trans-Papua Highway. However, roads should be constructed in line with the condition in the region.          Armed civilians or unidentified gunmen still sometimes disrupt the security situation in the province. For instance, Chief Brigadier Awaluddin Elakhan, a police officer, was hit by an armed civilian in Tiom Market in Lanny Jaya District, Papua, some three years ago.          Hence, the road construction work had to be halted when the security situation became volatile.         This was acknowledged by Minister of Public Works and Public Housing Affairs Mochamad Basoeki Hadimoeljono who said the construction of Trans-Papua roads is still constrained by security issues.

GOVERNMENT PROMISES TO LOWER CEMENT PRICES IN PAPUA

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Aug 24 (Antara) - The prices of commodities are exceptionally high in Papua Province compared to the other regions in the country due to constraints in transportation.          One of the commodities in the province whose price has skyrocketed and has reached one to two million per sack is cement.          In order to solve the high price disparity, the government is currently boosting road infrastructure and port development while launching an integrated air and sea toll routes that would facilitate cargo and human transportation in Papua.          The government, through Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (SOE), Rini Soemarno, has promised to take efforts to cut the disparity of cement prices in Papua.          "I promise that I would try to further lower the price of cement so that it can be made affordable to the people in the two districts of Puncak Jaya and Jayawijaya, the mountainous region in Papua. Hopefully, one day, the price in the mountainous and coastal areas will both be the same, "Soemarno stated in Timika on Wednesday.

CONNECTIVITY MAIN KEY TO PAPUA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Aug 1 (Antara) - Provinces in eastern Indonesia, such as Papua and West Papua, are relatively lagging behind those in the western part of the country, resulting in the government to accord priority to the development in Papua.          One of the development strategies that President Joko Widodo's (Jokowi's) government is carrying out in Papua is accelerating the development of infrastructure, including roads, in order to develop connectivity to isolated regions that could spur the growth of the local economy.          In developing connectivity, the government is also accelerating the realization of the sea toll project that connects Surabaya in East Java to Papua.          The construction of Trans-Papua Road last year, for example, has received a budget allocation of Rp2.15 trillion, consisting of Rp739 billion for the maintenance of 1,719.46 kilometer roads, Rp834.8 billion for the construction of 151.34 kilometer new roads, and Rp579.4 billion for the construction of bridges.          The projects are part of the Trans-Papua Highway that connect Papua and West Papua. Construction of the 4,330-kilometer Trans-Papua Highway in Indonesia's easternmost and mineral-rich provinces of Papua and West Papua will offer greater connectivity and is expected to boost economic activities in the regions.