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After officially opening Papua’s 20th PON National Games on Saturday evening, President Joko Widodo continued his working visit on Sunday by inaugurating several infrastructure projects in Merauke District.

The infrastructure projects that the President inaugurated during his visit to Merauke that will sooner or later become the capital of a new province in Papua include Mopah Airport’s new passenger terminal and Sota integrated cross-border post.

During his working visit, he was accompanied by several ministers and top state officials, including Coordinating Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Minister Mahfud MD, Home Minister Tito Karnavian, Public Works and Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono, House of Representatives (DPR) Speaker Puan Maharani, and Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto.

When inaugurating the Mopah Airport’s new 7,200-square-meter passenger terminal, the President, widely known as Jokowi, disclosed that the airport is able to accommodate 638,000 passengers per year. In Merauke, President Jokowi also inaugurated the General LB Moerdani Hospital whose existence will optimize the healthcare services for the residents of Merauke and those participating in Papua’s PON National Games.

While delivering his speech at the inauguration of Sota cross-border post (PLBN), he highlighted the importance of border areas for Indonesia as they function as Indonesia’s front porches that represent the nation’s image.

Therefore, they must sustainably be developed. Having the border areas get well developed will present Indonesia’s progress that makes the entire nation proud, according to President Jokowi.

To this end, over the past seven years, he has ordered related government agencies to rebuild various cross-border posts across the archipelago.

However, the reconstruction of the cross-border posts that has made the nation have a new physical image must also be completed with a continuous improvement in public services.

“Providing new ways of serving the public becomes our commitment to developing Indonesia from its periphery,” he said.

The Sota cross-border post is expected to help boost new economic growth centers, and improve services in the Indonesia-PNG land border area of Merauke District.

At the end, its presence would hopefully make local residents near the border area have deeper love and pride of Indonesia, President Jokowi said.

Noted as the eighth integrated cross-border post in Indonesia, and second one in Papua after the PLBN Skouw, the PLBN Sota in Sota Sub-district relatively has complete facilities.

The facilities include a commercial building, a market, social and public facilities, a worship place, a worker dormitory, accommodation facility, pedestrian facility, and a parking area.

People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker Bambang Soesatyo said he appreciates the government for implementing the principle of equality in regional developments in Papua and other provinces outside Java.

The presence of several newly-completed infrastructure facilities in Merauke will apparently support the will of residents of the Merauke, Bovel Digoel, Mappi, and Asmat districts to create South Papua Province.

Regarding the regional division to create South Papua Province, Home Minister Tito Karnavian had highlighted “a specialty” pertaining to the public’s aspirations in the four districts.

Karnavian made the statement during his working visit along with top security minister, Mahfud MD, to Sota Sub-district near the Indonesia-Papua New Guinea border on September 12, 2021.

To this end, the government will revise the Papua Special Autonomy Law, according to Karnavian, who had earlier headed the Papua police headquarters before being promoted to serve as Indonesia’s national police chief and then home minister.

Karnavian further called for accelerated development in Papua, so that the regional division for creating South Papua Province with Merauke as its capital city becomes indispensable.

In the early stage, Pegunungan Bintang District was keen to be part of South Papua Province, but due to its geographical proximity to Jayapura, it united with the “Saereri Division,” he remarked.

Referring to a new regulation, four districts in South Papua could have formed their own province, he noted, adding that the Home Ministry is currently deliberating and preparing a government regulation, he stated.

Coordinating Minister Mahfud MD has given his ministry a deadline to complete the government regulation on this regional division by October 19, 2021. It still needs to be merged with the aspirations of those at the grassroots level, Karnavian stated.

Hence, Karnavian urged community leaders and all societal elements at large in the districts of Merauke, Boven Digoel, Mappi, and Asmat to stand united to express their aspirations for the creation of South Papua Province.

They must also write a letter to Indonesian President Joko Widodo, he noted, adding that Merauke District had vast potential in agriculture and fisheries.

Owing to its huge potential and sufficient availability of human resources, he is confident that South Papua will rise to become the most developed province on the land of Papua.

Source: Antara News

Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno said that Indonesia’s batik industry has driven the community’s economy by absorbing more than 200 thousand workers.

“Batik industry can absorb more than 200 thousand workers in more than 47 thousand business units spread across 101 batik industry centers,” Uno said in the webinar on improving the quality of batik to commemorate the National Batik Day, monitored online in Yogyakarta, Saturday.

The minister said that batik has been developed from a traditional art to become a modern art.

There are more than 5,849 Indonesian batik motifs from Aceh to Papua. Batik is also rich in a variety of colors, designs, and ways to draw the cloth with spouted canting.

As it is increasingly worn in everyday life, according to him, batik is one of the sources of people’s income that drives the community’s economy.

Head of The National Standardization Agency (BSN) Kukuh S. Achmad said that as a creative industry with promising market potential, a strategy is needed to face the challenges of this era of the creative economy industry so that Indonesian batik products can compete in the global market.

With the increasing public awareness of the quality of batik, according to Kukuh, the role of the Indonesian National Standard (SNI) is becoming increasingly important.

“The government has an obligation to encourage batik producers to improve the quality of batik, through the application of SNI,” he said.

Kukuh explained that the BSN is obliged to provide SNI and a scheme for the implementation, development, and facilitation of certification.

“In addition to playing a role in providing protection to the community, SNI also becomes a guide to increase the competitiveness of Indonesian products,” Kukuh stated.

The BSN has set 32 standard of quality for batik and batik products in order to preserve the traditional fabric.

“With SNI, it means that the batik has met the standards of quality, which are recognized nationally and internationally,” he said.

Source: Antara News

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) on Sunday inaugurated the new 7,200-square-meter passenger terminal at Mopah Airport in Merauke District, Papua Province.

“We continue to develop Mopah Airport in Merauke, which is situated at the easternmost tip of Indonesia. Today, we have finished the construction of the new passenger terminal in a 7,200 square meter area with the capacity of 638 thousand passengers per year,” the President said at the Mopah Airport, Merauke, Papua.

Present at the occasion were Speaker of the House of Representatives Puan Maharani, Public Works and Public Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono, Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi, Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia, Military Chief Air Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto, and Merauke District Head Romanus Mbaraka.

“This (terminal) is very large, and is expected to improve services to passengers,” Jokowi said.

The President noted that Indonesia as a vast country needs to improve its connectivity.

“Facilitating the mobility of people, goods and services will make our economy more efficient. It will also improve our competitiveness in global market. That is the importance of infrastructure,” Jokowi remarked.

President Jokowi said, during the past seven years, the government has continued to develop airports and ports in a bid to improve connectivity, including through sea toll.

“In future, the capacity of this airport’s passenger terminal will be increased to anticipate the increase number of passenger, public mobility and economic activity,”Jokowi added.

The President called on Papua Governor and Merauke District Head to use the Mopah Airport for creating new economic centers in the region and improve its competitiveness in export and investment.

“It should be beneficial to people’s welfare in Merauke and boost the development of Papua,” Jokowi noted.

Mopah Airport is one of airports in the province prepared to support the National Sports Week (PON) and National Paralympic Week. Other airports prepared to facilitate the national multi-sporting event are Sentani Airport in Jayapura and Mozes Kilangin Airport in Timika.

Merauke will be the venue for some events, including paramotor, wushu, wrestling, fencing, women’s football, chess, and road race.

The development of Mopah Airport worth Rp141 billion was handled by the Transportation Ministry.

A data of the ministry’s Directorate General of Air Transportation showed that, in 2018 the number of passengers in the aiport had reached 440 thousand per year.

With its 2,500 meter-long and 45 meter-wide runway, the airport can be landed by such wide-body aircraft as Boeing 737-900 and Airbus A320.

In addition to Mopah Airport, the ministry has also developed other airports in Papua such as Wamena Airport, New Nabire, Ewer, Kepi and Mozes Kilangin Aiport.

Source: Antara News

The Marine and Fisheries Affairs Ministry has planned to establish seaweed farming villages in the eastern regions of Indonesia, as part of efforts to develop the top commodity in the fisheries sub-sector.

“The government will develop seaweed villages starting next year in Southeast Maluku and East Sumba,” the ministry’s Director General of Fish Farming Tb Haeru Rahayu said in a statement here on Sunday.

The development of the new seaweed farming will not set aside the existing farms. In fact, the government will connect them with private companies and funding institutions for further development, Rahayu said.

According to Rahayu, two out of three breakthrough program of the ministry to boost development in marine and fisheries industry in Indonesia are centered in fish farming sub-sector. The program are development of fish farming for export supported by marine and fisheries research as well as the development of local wisdom-based fish farming villages.

“Seaweed has a bright prospect, but it needs a holistic approach to all stakeholders including the government, academicians, business operators, media and the public,” he said.

The ministry has targeted to increase seaweed production from 9.78 million tons in 2019 to 12.3 million tons in 2024.

To reach the target, the ministry has designed a working plan to increase productivity and open new seaweed farming.

The ministry has worked closely with the Kalimajari Foundation, a Bali-based NGO working on sustainable cacao and seaweed development, to help farmers in the provinces of East Nusa Tenggara, Papua, and West Papua with technology to increase production.

“In addition, strategy, supply and distribution system of seaweed will also be improved and at the same time involving private seaweed seeds intermediary for sustainable seed sources,” Rahayu said.

Source: Antara News

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) visited a market in Sota Sub-district, Merauke District, Papua Province, on Sunday after inaugurating the Sota cross-border post (PLBN).

As revealed by a written statement from the Press Bureau of the Presidential Secretariat, at the market which is one of the facilities around the Sota integrated cross-border post, Jokowi had a chance to talk to a female vendor.

The President bought onions and bananas. When buying bananas, the President asked her about the price of a bunch of bananas.

“Five thousand,” the vendor said to the President.

“I bought four, so all twenty thousand rupiah,” the President said.

However, the President gave her one million Rupiah. “I bought a banana for Rp20,000. So how much is the return?” the President asked

“Thank you Mr. President,” said the vendor who was greeted by the President’s smile.

“Yes, thank you,” the President said.

In addition to Sota Market, previously the President also took the time to review a number of cross-border post (PLBN) facilities such as the Indonesia-Papua New Guinea departure route and the Papua New Guinea-Indonesia arrival to Plaza Garuda.

In that place, he met a number of border crossers and took the time to chat with them for a while.

Source: Antara News