Joko Heads to Papua to Kick Off Slate of Developments

Jakarta Globe, Roberth Vanwi, May 03, 2015

President Joko Widodo will visit Papua and West Papua next weekend for
the second time since taking office. (Antara Photo/Prasetyo Utomo)

Jayapura. President Joko Widodo is slated to make a second visit to the restive provinces of Papua and West Papua next weekend to launch several development projects.

Joko will be in the region for four days. The upcoming visit will be the second since he took office last October, following his tour of Papua in December in conjunction with Christmas celebrations.

“The president is slated to arrive in Papua on May 8,” said Brig. Gen. Supartogi, the chief of the military command in Merauke district, one of the places that Joko will visit in Papua.

He added that Joko would tour Indonesia’s easternmost provinces after a visit to Ambon, the capital of the nearby Maluku islands province.

As part of his Papuan tour, the president will visit two traditional markets in Jayapura, including Pasar Prahara in Sentani, which he also visited in December and which is currently undergoing a revamp. He said then that he wanted to support traditional markets.

In Jayapura, Joko is also slated to launch the construction of a bridge and facilities for the 2020 National Games, or PON, which will be held in Papua.

He will also attend the opening of a new public administration school in the provincial capital.

In Merauke, Joko will join a harvest festival and will depart for West Papua’s capital, Manokwari, later the same day, May 10, to launch the construction of a petrochemical factory and a power plant.

On the fourth day, Joko will be in Sorong to kick off the installation of fiber optic cables by state-owned telecommunications firm Telkom and to inaugurate Sorong’s new status as a National Strategic Tourism Zone.

Sorong is best known as the main departure point for visitors to the Raja Ampat islands, an increasingly popular and upmarket diving destination for international tourists.

Joko is scheduled to fly back to Jakarta on May 11.