Papua’s infrastructure development moved to the centre of the national agenda this week as Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, widely known as AHY, arrived in Jayapura to inspect projects and discuss a broader strategy for connecting communities across the region.
AHY’s working visit on Thursday, September 17, 2026, encompassed multiple road projects. It was designed around a larger question facing Papua: how can roads, ports, airports, schools and other basic infrastructure be developed as one connected system across a vast and geographically challenging territory?
Arriving at Sentani Airport in Jayapura Regency, AHY was accompanied by Minister of Transmigration M. Iftitah Sulaiman Suryanagara and officials from the Coordinating Ministry for Infrastructure and Regional Development. He was welcomed by Papua Governor Mathius Fakhiri, Papua Pegunungan Deputy Governor Ones Pahabol and Jayapura Regent Yunus Wonda.
The visit came as Papua’s six provinces and 42 regencies and municipalities face different infrastructure needs, from basic roads to maritime transport and air connectivity.
AHY said the central government wanted to hear those needs directly from regional leaders while providing direction on infrastructure priorities.
“We want to connect regions, regencies and cities, and ultimately advance the people’s economy and develop potential that may already exist,” AHY said after arriving in Jayapura.
For a region where mountains, forests, islands and long distances can make transport expensive and difficult, the message was straightforward: infrastructure is not only about construction. It is about whether people, products and public services can move.
AHY Begins the Visit with a Road Inspection
One of AHY’s first major activities was a field inspection of the Skory-Puay road in Kemtuk District, Jayapura Regency.
The road, which stretches for 7.7 kilometres, was upgraded through the government’s Instruksi Presiden Jalan Daerah (IJD) programme. ANTARA reported that the project is intended to improve mobility, including access to markets, schools and agricultural land.
The location offered a practical example of what AHY described as the broader purpose of infrastructure spending.
A road connecting communities to markets can reduce the difficulty of transporting agricultural products. Better access to schools can make daily travel easier for students and families. Producers can also benefit from better access to agricultural areas, which can help them connect with buyers and services.
AHY’s visit was therefore presented not simply as an inspection of physical construction but as a test of whether infrastructure translates into benefits for local communities.
Local reporting said the Skory-Puay improvement had reached completion, with the upgraded section forming part of the government’s effort to strengthen connections between communities in Jayapura.
The project illustrates an important element of Papua’s development challenge. Large strategic infrastructure can attract attention, but smaller regional roads can have an equally direct effect on daily life.
The Bigger Challenge: Jayapura to Wamena
After looking at a local road, AHY turned to one of the more ambitious connectivity questions in Papua: the road connection between Jayapura and Wamena.
The two areas represent very different geographic environments. Jayapura sits on Papua’s northern coast and serves as a major gateway, while Wamena lies in the interior highlands of Papua Pegunungan.
AHY argued that stronger road connectivity between the two areas could have significant economic consequences.
“If the road between Jayapura and Wamena were really connected with asphalt, this would greatly help people’s economic activities, open employment opportunities, increase purchasing power, and ultimately improve people’s lives,” he said.
The statement reflects a broader infrastructure logic.
Transport connections influence how quickly goods can move, how much businesses pay to reach markets and how easily workers and consumers can travel. In remote areas, these factors can have a direct relationship with the price and availability of goods.
Papua faces a particularly pronounced challenge due to the technical demands and costs associated with conventional road construction in its geography.
That is why AHY’s approach goes beyond a single road corridor.
Papua Needs More Than Roads
AHY emphasised that connectivity in Papua cannot depend exclusively on land transport.
The region’s geography requires a combination of road, maritime and air networks.
In his remarks, AHY pointed out the need to strengthen ports and the maritime sector so that logistics can become more efficient and affordable. He also called for stronger airports, air transport and pioneer flights to support the movement of people and goods, especially to locations that remain difficult to reach by road.
This multimodal approach is important for Papua.
A road may connect one district to another, but it cannot replace a ship serving an island community. Likewise, a maritime route cannot always substitute for an aircraft when people need to reach remote mountainous areas quickly.
The result is a transportation system in which roads, ports and airports need to complement each other.
AHY’s message suggests that the government is seeking to develop these links as part of a broader network rather than treating each infrastructure project as an isolated investment.
Six Provinces, 42 Regional Governments
Another central element of AHY’s visit was coordination.
Papua’s administrative structure now consists of six provinces and 42 regencies and municipalities, creating a much wider coordination challenge for infrastructure planning.
AHY said regional governors had previously brought their aspirations and development challenges to the central government, ranging from basic infrastructure requirements to connectivity between regions.
The next step was to bring regional leaders together in Papua.
A coordination meeting was scheduled for Friday, September 18, bringing together governors, deputy governors, regents and mayors who could attend. The meeting was intended to discuss infrastructure and connectivity priorities across Papua.
This approach places local governments inside the planning process.
For a region as geographically diverse as Papua, infrastructure priorities in a coastal province may differ substantially from those in Papua Pegunungan or in the southern lowlands.
Central government coordination can provide funding and national planning, but local governments are often better positioned to explain which roads, bridges, ports or public facilities have the greatest immediate impact on their communities.
AHY said the central government needed to continue following up on the aspirations submitted by regional leaders because they represent the communities they govern.
Infrastructure and Human Development Must Move Together
AHY’s visit also conveyed the message that human development and infrastructure are inseparable.
While roads and transport links receive much of the public attention, he argued that Papua’s development must also strengthen human resources.
That position became particularly visible during his visit to the Skory-Puay project, when AHY called for all parties to safeguard the development of Sekolah Rakyat, a central government education programme.
“Development in Papua must be carried out comprehensively, not only through road connectivity, but also by strengthening basic infrastructure that directly touches people’s lives,” AHY said in Jayapura.
The emphasis on education was deliberate.
AHY said economic development should benefit all communities, including people in Papua, and linked the government’s infrastructure agenda with efforts to reduce poverty and inequality.
“Human development must go hand in hand with infrastructure development,” he said, adding that every child should have the opportunity to grow up healthy and receive a quality education. He described education as a key means of breaking the cycle of poverty.
That argument broadens the meaning of infrastructure.
A road can bring people closer to a school, but the school itself must have adequate facilities and teachers. An airport can improve mobility, but children and young people also need access to education and skills that allow them to benefit from the economic opportunities created by better connectivity.
The Scale of the IJD Programme
The figures presented by AHY also provide an indication of the scale of the government’s regional road programme.
Across the six provinces of Papua, there were 32 IJD activities in 2025 and 42 activities in 2026, according to figures cited by AHY. In Papua Province specifically, four activities were recorded in 2025 and 10 in 2026, including multi-year projects.
At the national level, AHY said the 2025 to 2026 IJD programme covered 427 targets with a total budget of approximately Rp 8.68 trillion.
These figures do not by themselves measure the eventual economic impact of the programme. Roads still need maintenance, links need to connect with other transportation systems, and communities need businesses and public services capable of using the improved access.
But they show the scale at which the government is approaching regional road connectivity.
The more difficult question is how effectively these individual projects can form a functioning network.
Connectivity as an Economic Strategy
AHY’s argument is ultimately based on the idea that infrastructure can unlock economic activity that already exists.
Papua has agricultural land, fisheries, tourism potential, natural resources and growing urban centres. High transportation costs or difficult-to-reach markets can constrain the economic value of those assets.
AHY said better connectivity could open economic access, improve the distribution of goods and services and create employment opportunities.
For farmers, the difference can be measured in the time and cost required to move products from a field to a market.
For small businesses, it can mean access to more customers.
For consumers, better logistics can potentially improve the availability and affordability of goods.
For government services, better roads and transport can make it easier for teachers, health workers and administrators to reach communities.
The effect is therefore broader than the road itself.
Security, Stability and Development
AHY also placed infrastructure within a wider framework of security and social stability.
He said economic and infrastructure development were important factors in supporting security, stability and public welfare.
This is particularly relevant in remote areas where limited access can compound other challenges.
Reliable transportation can improve the delivery of public services. Better logistics can help local economies operate more consistently. Greater access can also strengthen interaction between communities and government institutions.
At the same time, infrastructure should not be treated as a substitute for governance, public services or community engagement.
The success of development ultimately depends on whether people see tangible improvements in their daily lives.
That is why AHY’s emphasis on direct engagement with regional leaders and his field inspection of an actual road project are significant components of the visit.
What the September Visit Signals
The sequence of AHY’s visit offers a glimpse into the government’s current infrastructure strategy for Papua.
It began with a physical project in Jayapura, moved to a broader discussion about Jayapura-Wamena connectivity, expanded to maritime and air transport, and then connected infrastructure with education and human development.
The overarching theme was integration.
Rather than viewing roads, ports, airports and schools as separate agendas, AHY presented them as parts of a larger development framework.
His statement that “Papua must not be left behind” captured the political message behind the visit. He linked infrastructure and economic development with the government’s objective of improving welfare, security and stability across the region.
For the central government, the next test will be implementation.
Regional leaders will coordinate to transform broad priorities into concrete infrastructure plans during the meeting. The effectiveness of that process will depend on financing, technical execution, local coordination, maintenance and the ability to connect projects into functioning networks.
Conclusion
AHY’s visit to Papua places connectivity at the centre of a development strategy that reaches far beyond road construction.
The 7.7-kilometre Skory-Puay road in Jayapura provides a tangible starting point. The proposed strengthening of the Jayapura-Wamena connection points toward a much larger regional objective. Maritime infrastructure, airports and pioneer aviation are expected to fill gaps that roads alone cannot address, while Sekolah Rakyat and other basic services underline the importance of developing people alongside physical infrastructure.
The central challenge now is continuity.
Infrastructure produces its greatest value when individual projects connect with one another and when communities have the education, markets, services and economic opportunities needed to use them.
AHY’s September visit therefore represents more than an inspection tour. It aims to unite central and regional governments in addressing Papua’s infrastructure needs within a cohesive economic and social framework.
For Papua, the measure of success will ultimately be found beyond construction sites: in shorter journeys, lower logistics barriers, better access to schools and public services, stronger local businesses and wider opportunities for communities across the region.
As Indonesia continues its infrastructure push in the country’s easternmost region, that connection between physical investment and everyday opportunity will remain the key test.
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