TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Pandjaitan announced that Labuan Bajo in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) would be the first city in Indonesia with telephone line undergrounding.

“The first city [with underground cables] will be Labuan Bajo, with almost no overhead phone cables,” said Luhut in a coordination meeting on tourism broadcasted via the ministry’s YouTube channel on Friday, Nov. 27, 2020.

Luhut claimed the development of the city as the priority tourist destination saw rapid progress. The region, which is situated in the westernmost tip of Flores Island, was being prepped to host the G20 and ASEAN Summit 2023.

Based on the limited meeting with President Jokowi on August 30, Luhut said the evaluation of the city development project was carried out every three months.

The government is also evaluating the development project in other priority tourist destinations, viz. Mandalika in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), Lake Toba in North Sumatra, Borobudur in Central Java, and Likupang in North Sulawesi. The projects will be continued in 2021.

The government has earmarked the budget to support Labuan Bajo development at Rp1.01 billion next year. Throughout 2020, the Public Works and Housing Ministry allocated Rp902.47 billion for 43 packages of infrastructure projects in the city.

Read: Komodo Population in Labuan Bajo Rises in Past 5 Years, Govt Claims

FRANCISCA CHRISTY ROSANA