TEMPO.CO, Raja Ampat - Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Syarif Tjitjip Soetarjo said the 2014 Sail Raja Ampat maritime event was aimed at improving and developing infrastructures on a cluster of islands located on the edge of West Papua. "The infrastructure improvement will later boost tourism there," Syarif said yesterday.
The improvement in tourism in a region is related to the readiness of infrastructures in that region. As a result, Syarif hopes the event could become a bridge for a number of ministries involved in holding the event to develop Raja Ampat’s infrastructure.
Infrastructure issues such as highway and electricity have become obstacles to develop tourism on the island. These obstacles would not be necessarily solved although investors had stated their interest in investing in the region.
"Investors sometimes want to build hotels, but the government manages electricity and harbors," Syarif said. So far, the government was also unable to do much because the allocated fund for development was merely nine percent from the state budget. "It is indeed hard if it isn’t allocated," Syarif commented.
PRIHANDOKO
