TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko Widodo presided over the groundbreaking of Mama Mama Papua Market in Jayapura in Papua, which is aimed speed up economic growth in the area.

"I have asked all my Ministers to speed up the process and the construction, because the ladies of Papua have been waiting for this moment for a very long time," said the President to the Yotefa ladies on Saturday, March 30, 2016.

The Ministers the President referred to, was State-owned Minister Rini Soemarno and Trade Minister Thomas Lembong. The President - who is commonly referred to as Jokowi - has asked both ministers to complete the market within 10 months.

Jokowi has also called for future market operators to ensure that they keep the market clean and comfortable, so consumers would be drawn to the market - which will increase its' competitiveness to modern malls and markets.

"I know it's a wet market - but there's nothing wrong with wearing uniforms, for example, pretty aprons to increase the appeal of the market," said Jokowi, who also asked merchants and vendors to be friendly to all visitors, so perhaps even more tourists will be attracted to come to Jayapura.

Jokowi also reminded the government to quickly build the market, but still respect local regulations and customs in the area. "Up until three weeks ago, I didn't really want to know how the market will come to be constructed - but now, I want all regulations to be respected, and what's for sure, is that the construction will immediately begin," he said.

The Mama Mama Papua Cultural Market is built to house traders and vendors who had to be relocated from their old stalls to a lot owned by state-transport operator, Perum Damri, which has a total area of 4,490 square metres, and the construction will be supervised by the State-owned Enterprises Ministry.

The vendors had called on the government to relocate their stalls to the middle of Jayapura, which will make it easier for local vendors and traders - which ranges from batik-craftsmen, basic goods vendor, and other local residents - to ply their trade and increase their profile, in he middle of the city, where land rental and purchase prices were way too high for them to afford.

ANTARA