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.
"This year, we are still focusing on the land clearance for the Hoeya airstrip. The geographical condition of Hoeva is much more difficult than the Bela airport. This year, we have begun land hardening work at the airport location. About 400 meters have been opened," Rettob noted.
He added that the local government has been concentrating on developing the airstrip in the remote areas, especially on the Mimika highland region. The hilly and steep conditions of the areas pose difficulties for the construction of the airport.
Heavy equipment, such as excavators and others, are first transported by a helicopter from Timika (capital town of Mimika District). Fuels and workers are also flown from Timika.
"If the development of the airports would to be accelerated, then all types of heavy equipment will be flown to the area. All this will require adequate funds. If one airport is able to get only the excavator, then the work will obviously be delayed," Rettob explained.
Work on the two airports is currently in the third phase, from land opening up until the hardening of the landsite. In order to accelerate the development of the Hoeya and Bela airports, the local government of Mimika will need a huge budget.
"We need a large amount of funds to complete the construction of the two airports. We hope to receive support from the central and provincial governments," remarked Rettob.
Besides the development of the two airports, the local government is also preparing the development Frans Kaisiepo Airport in Biak Numfor District.
According to the airport management company, PT Angkasa Pura I and Biak Numfor district government in Papua province, the Frans Kaisiepo International Airport is being prepared as a hub for air cargoes.
"We are adding eight cargo spaces at the airport's terminal in Biak to accelerate the development of the airport as an air cargo distribution center for various districts in Papua," Ankasa Pura I General Manager, Djon Herry, remarked last month (Sept 23).
He added that the addition of cargo spaces at Frans Kaisiepo airport is expected to accommodate many cargoes, which are transported from Surabaya, Makassar, and other production areas on Java Island, to be distributed to various areas in Pegunungan Tengah District.
The addition of cargo spaces at Frans Kaisiepo Airport is to support the integration program of sea and air freight transport programmed by President Joko Widodo. The facilities of Frans Kaisiepo Airport are very supportive of the integration program of air toll and sea toll.
In 2017, the management of PT Angkasa Pura 1 has expanded the passenger terminal, aircraft parking area, and cargo spaces to support the improvement of air transportation service in eastern Indonesia.
In the meantime, the Air Transportation Directorate General and the United States Embassy in Indonesia will cooperate to improve the flight safety in the eastern region, mainly in Papua province.
Since the province is mostly covered by mountainous regions, the weather in the area sometimes becomes hard to predict, the Transportation Ministry's Air Transportation Directorate General, Agus Santoso, revealed in a discussion in Denpasar, Bali, last month (Sept 19).
"The Indonesian government has to ensure the safety and security of flights in the country's eastern region by strengthening infrastructures in the air navigation sector," he remarked.
During a similar occasion, the Ambassador of the United States to Indonesia, Joseph R Donovan, remarked that the cooperation was part of the strategic partnership between the two countries, mainly in terms of developing the navigation infrastructure in the Indonesia's eastern region. "We take the issue on flight safety and security in Indonesia very seriously," Donovan remarked.
The ambassador further explained that the US government has delivered $1 million aid to the Indonesian Transportation Ministry. The grant would be allocated for researches on flight safety in Maluku and Papua provinces, which are already being conducted partly by the US-based aircraft manufacturer, Boeing.
According to Santoso, the safety issue during flight remains the top concern of the authority.
Apart from the high-technology infrastructure, Santoso added that the pilot's competency has also become the authority's top concern over safety issue.
Since the province has many steep regions, the pilots should notice not only the aircraft's functioning but also the visual condition at the airbase, both during take-off and landing.
The pilots, moreover, need to acquire knowledge not only about the technical information but also about flight safety. (A014/INE)EDITED BY INE
(T.A014/A/BESSR/A. Abdussalam) 12-10-2017 23:26: |
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