Merauke – The Government of South Papua Province has taken concrete steps towards the construction of the government center in KTM Salor. By finalizing and completing 8 Readiness Criteria (RC), this development is ready to begin.
RC referred to, location determination, land acquisition such as customary release, certificates, and asset transfer have been completed, handover statement letters and certificates, master plans, basic designs, conformity of space utilization with district RDTR, Feasibility Study (FS), EIA documents have also been completed, cost budget plans from both the APBN and APBD.
One of the main requirements is the master plan of the government center that will be shaped into a shield, depicting security and resilience as well as courage.
The next step is to improve accessibility. The government has established 3 routes to the government center, with 2 land routes and 1 sea route, all of which are in the process of being improved. With improved roads, the journey to KTM Salor is expected to take less than an hour.
Although there are concerns from some parties, such as Commission II DPR RI Doli Tanjung, regarding the slowness of development and the long travel time, the government is optimistic that KTM Salor will become a new milestone in civilization in South Papua.
Pj. The Governor of South Papua, Prof. Dr. Ir. Apolo Safanpo, ST, MT, emphasized that the decision to establish the center of government of South Papua Province in KTM Salor had become a collective agreement before his term of office. This support came from the regents, the chairman of the DPRD, the South Papua Province Expansion Team, the South Papua Working Group, and the government.
This assertion was made following a question whether there was a possibility of establishing another policy regarding the shift of the KTM-Salor government center.
“Do not (there is a shift, ed) later start from the beginning again, have to release the land again first, certificate, amdal, it will be long,” said Pj. Governor Safanpo in the VIP Room the day before last.
Pj. Governor Safanpo explained that the location of the capital city of Merauke Regency and the center of the South Papua government in KTM Salor had been stipulated in the law before his term of office, so that the decision was not the authority of the acting Governor, but the implementation of the existing provisions in Law 14 of 2022 concerning the establishment of South Papua Province.
“The government center in KTM Salor should be seen far ahead that the location will be far developed into a modern urban area, as well as later in the city of Merauke will develop,” he said.
However, he emphasized that efforts to build a new center of civilization in KTM Salor will not harm the agricultural sector. It was mentioned that the construction of the government center will only use a small portion of the available land, while agricultural land will be maintained.
“Not (at the expense of agriculture), only within the 152-hectare area (development land) but outside that is agricultural land. And it is impossible to build outside the designated area,” he explained.
He added that the conversion of agricultural land to residential areas is usually the decision of the landowners themselves, not caused by government infrastructure development.
