Wamena (ANTARA) – Papua Highlands provincial authorities are urging the central government to build a state border crossing post in Bintang Mountains District to strengthen border management and accelerate development along the Papua New Guinea frontier.
Acting Head of the provincial Border Management and Cooperation Agency Elix Bidana hopes the border post will be built by 2027, stimulating development in education, health care and economic activity across the Papua Highlands border region.
“Once the border post is established, the area will no longer be underdeveloped. Instead, it will become Indonesia’s gateway and front porch, helping accelerate regional development,” he said here Thursday.
According to Bidana, eight of the district’s 34 subdistricts directly border Papua New Guinea.
“Of the 34 subdistricts in Bintang Mountains District, eight share a direct border with Papua New Guinea. There is currently no border post, so we are urging the central government to accelerate its construction,” he said.
Indonesia previously installed 52 border markers along the frontier when the region was still known as Irian Jaya, he said.
Ten markers are located in present-day Bintang Mountains District, which was formerly part of Jayawijaya District, he added.
Without a formal border post, authorities have adopted state-oriented and family-oriented approaches to engaging communities living along the Bintang Mountains-Papua New Guinea border, Bidana said.
The government has identified three potential sites for border posts, but is prioritizing one in Diki Hamlet, Tarup Subdistrict, in the district’s southern area.
“We plan to build three border posts in Bintang Mountains District, but our immediate priority is the southern site in Diki Hamlet, Tarup Subdistrict, where 15 hectares of land have been prepared,” he said.
Land documentation, environmental impact assessments and other administrative requirements are being prepared, pending an Indonesian presidential decree, he said.
Officials were finalizing supporting documents and a site designation letter before submitting the proposal to the central government, he said, adding that ​​​​​​​construction, however, would depend on the presidential decree.
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Translator: Yudhi Effendi, Cindy Frishanti Octavia
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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