TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo announced that the government had enrolled infrastructure construction funds for Papua that amount to Rp1,036 trillion from 2014 up to 2022, during his two Presidential terms. Jokowi noted that it was not a small amount of money and that people must reap the benefits.

"This is an extraordinary amount of money, which is why I ask the people of Papua to constantly monitor it and guard its use, don't let it be used for other things. We must remain vigilant as corruption remains to be a problem in all provinces," said the President in a video published by the Presidential Secretariat Office on Tuesday, March 21, 2023.

Jokowi also elaborated on the sectors funded by the money, which include the construction of 3,462 kilometers of Trans Papua highway, 1,098 kilometers of roads across border areas, the 1.3-kilometer Yotefa bridge, and improving facilities in airports located at Sorong, Wamena, and Jayawijaya.

"I would like to assert that development in Indonesia is no longer centered in Java, but now is in Indonesia as a whole, which includes Papua," said Jokowi.

Jokowi also mentioned the construction of the Papua Youth Creative Hub (PYCH) headquarters in Jayapura, which cost up to Rp105 billion. This work was done in conjunction with the State Intelligence Agency (BIN).

M JULNIS FIRMANSYAH

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