WAMENA, SOUTH PAPUA – Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia KH. Ma’ruf Amin officially conducted groundbreaking or laying the first stone of infrastructure development at the center of the Government of South Papua Province located in the Salor Independent Integrated City, Kurik District, Merauke Regency.
The ground breaking was carried out at Swiss Belhotel Merauke. The Vice President was accompanied by Deputy Minister of Home Affairs John Wempi Wetipo and Acting Governor of South Papua Apolo Safanpo. The laying of the first stone and signing of the inscription were carried out by the Vice President after a closed dialog with leaders in South Papua, “I am proud to be present here in Merauke Regency, which is the front porch and eastern gate of the archipelago, and to be able to meet face to face with all of you,” said the Vice President.
The presence of the Vice President in South Papua, as well as to see firsthand and ensure that the process of accelerating the development and welfare of the Papuan people, especially in South Papua Province, is going well, “This is a mandate of the law for the state to be continuously present to oversee various Papuan development programs, so that the results can be felt directly by all people in Papua, including in South Papua Province,” said the Vice President.
It is said that the policy of regional expansion in Papua is a strategic agenda of the Government that must continue to be guarded together, both across ministries / agencies, Provincial and Regency or City governments, as well as between other stakeholders.
In encouraging the acceleration of Papuan development and the welfare of Indigenous Papuans, the Government has established the Papua Special Autonomy Development Acceleration Steering Committee or the Papua Steering Committee. Through this Papua Steering Committee, efforts to synchronize, harmonize, evaluate, and coordinate Papuan development programs are expected to be strengthened with one representative from each new autonomous region in Papua, so there are 6 representatives from Papua on the Papua Steering Committee.
He revealed, currently, the Government has launched the Papua Development Acceleration Master Plan for 2022-2041 with three main missions, namely Healthy Papua, Smart Papua, and Productive Papua. This Master Plan for the Acceleration of Papua Development will be a guideline for all stakeholders in designing priority programs for Papua’s development, ”Within the framework of the Master Plan for the Acceleration of Papua Development, we will continue to encourage South Papua Province as a national food center in eastern Indonesia. In addition, the Government must continue to improve the economic sector by exploring the potential of regional tourism such as historical tourism in Boven Digoel and the Asmat Festival to become a world-class tourist destination,” he said.
The Vice President delivered several messages to accelerate the development of South Papua Province in the future,
- Sharpen programs and measures that are comprehensive in nature by highlighting the potential and uniqueness of the South Papua Province region which is located on the state border.
- Make the government center area of South Papua Province not only a physical support for government functions, but also an axis driving the accelerated development of South Papua Province.
- Increase collaboration, synergy and cooperation between ministries or agencies and local governments to actively ensure that the preparatory stages of development go well.
”I leave hope that the construction of the center of government facilities and infrastructure will one day act as a ‘new city’ in South Papua Province, while presenting the face of the government area that still respects the symbols of local wisdom in this region,” he ordered.
Meanwhile, the Acting Governor of South Papua revealed, for the construction of the government center, 8 readiness criteria have been completed to be able to carry out physical or infrastructure development. Starting from the availability of land, land acquisition, asset handover statement letter, certificate, basic design, space suitability, EIA document and budget, all of which documents have been declared complete by the Ministry of Public Works and Spatial Planning and the Ministry of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning of the National Land Agency.
Apolo Safanpo explained that the basic design of the South Papua Governor’s office when viewed from the air is shaped like a shield used by tribes in South Papua when fighting between tribes and villages.
Infrastructure development at the South Papua government center will be funded from the State Budget and Regional Budget. The Governor’s Office, House of Representatives, People’s Representative Assembly, flats will be financed by the State or Central Budget, while for official offices, office and official houses and some other infrastructure will be the responsibility of the South Papua Provincial Government.
After laying the first stone, the Vice President then reviewed sugarcane planting in Sermayam I-Kampung Ngguti Bob, Tanah Miring District by road from Merauke to the point in question.
The planting of 500,000 hectares of sugarcane in Merauke is one of the National Strategic Development Programs that has been determined through Government Regulation in order to fulfill national sugar and bioethanol.
In addition to involving domestic investors, the planting of sugar cane which will use all of these technologies will also involve investors from abroad, unmitigated, the officials who reviewed the land in addition to the Vice President, also the Commander of the Indonesian National Army, Minister of Agriculture, Minister of Investment, and Deputy National Defense.
