Speaking in Jayapura on Saturday, Febryan Nurdiansyah, commitment-making official for the Jayapura–Wamena public–private partnership (PPP), said construction began on July 3, 2024, and is scheduled to finish on November 3, 2026.
He said work spans KM 366 in Benawa District to KM 416 in Elelim Subdistrict, Yalimo District, covering roughly 50 kilometers.
The project’s 15-year-four-month concession includes a two-year-four-month construction phase and a 13-year service period for operations and maintenance.
Infrastructure works include upgrading dirt roads to asphalt, building 16 new bridges, and installing a weigh station to prevent overloaded freight vehicles.
PT Hutama Mambelim Trans Papua (HMTP), the implementing business entity, is responsible for financing, technical design, construction, operations, and maintenance throughout the concession.
Febryan said the PPP structure differs from standard road projects because private investors fund both design and construction, with the government providing basic design parameters and technical oversight.
He said the ministry reviews compliance with agreed technical standards, including road width, asphalt thickness, and slope-stabilization methods.
Officials expect the upgraded road to boost economic activity and improve access to education and healthcare across Papua Pegunungan.
He said the project remains on schedule and is expected to sharply reduce Jayapura–Wamena travel times to two–three days from the previous one–two weeks.
Faster travel is expected to improve logistics flows and lower prices of basic goods in highland districts.
Agung Rahmadi, deputy project manager at state-owned construction firm PT Hutama Karya, said construction is progressing and the company is confident it will meet the 2026 deadline.
He said the 50-km alignment is divided into five zones of about 10 kilometers each, supported by roughly 150 heavy machines deployed to accelerate the work.
Asphalt paving has started in Zone 1, while excavation continues in Zones 2 through 5, with several kilometers remaining.
Agung said the company also helps repair landslides or road damage outside the PPP work area to maintain continuity of transport links.
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Translator: Ardiles L, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: M Razi Rahman
Task force commander Lt. Col. Amar Supratman said on Sunday that health personnel from the Pirime Post visited residents such as Yotan from Bagumbuk Village, who needed immediate medical attention.
He said Sgt. Didik, the Pirime Post’s medical officer, has been actively providing treatment to villagers.
“Our health program is ready to serve anytime residents need assistance,” Supratman said.
He noted that the outreach is part of broader humanitarian operations conducted by the Indonesian military in border and interior areas across Papua.
According to Supratman, the mobile service aims to improve local living conditions and strengthen ties between soldiers and surrounding communities.
He said the free treatment also helps ease the financial burden on residents in remote highland areas.
“We hope this can lighten hardships and support villagers facing health challenges,” he added.
Lanny Jaya resident Julia expressed gratitude to the Pirime Post soldiers for providing free medicine and medical care for her husband.
In addition to the mobile medical service, several Indonesian military personnel stationed in Papua’s highlands have also been teaching Quran reading to Muslim children in remote Pirime Village due to the absence of religious teachers and to support spiritual development in the community.
About seven elementary school students attend the informal classes held at the Pirime Post of Infantry Battalion (Yonif) 511/DY, part of the Indonesia–Papua New Guinea Border Security Task Force.
“In these remote areas, there are no religious teachers, and Muslims are a minority,” Supratman said in a statement published in October.
“Our personnel are offering what religious education they can provide,” he added.
ANTARA noted that Indonesian troops stationed in Papua are expected to multitask and respond swiftly to daily challenges faced by local communities.
They are often called to act as problem-solvers while carrying out their primary mission of protecting national sovereignty and maintaining public safety.
Sharing land and sea borders with Papua New Guinea, the provinces of Papua and West Papua hold significant geopolitical and strategic importance for Indonesia.
Despite persistent security threats from armed separatist groups in several areas, soldiers in the region continue to demonstrate their commitment to community welfare through service-oriented programs.
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Translator: Yudhi E, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: M Razi Rahman
“Papua has unique geographical and operational characteristics. Therefore, supervision quality in the region must be conducted with precision and strict discipline,” Director General of Air Transportation Lukman F. Laisa said in a statement on Sunday.
He noted that the ministry recently held a Regional Coordination Meeting of Airports Authority Offices Regions IX and X in Sentani, Papua.
The meeting served as a key moment to align oversight measures and strengthen synergy among stakeholders across six provinces, particularly in maintaining safety, security, and air connectivity, which support local activities.
“Strengthening technical supervision in Papua is a top priority,” Laisa emphasized.
He highlighted the importance of upholding aviation safety and security standards, including ensuring certification processes and service standards comply with regulations.
Lukman also stressed the important role of pioneer passenger and cargo flights, which are vital for connectivity in areas with limited land and sea transport access.
Regional pioneer flight coordinators for 2025-2026 have been established based on community needs, isolation levels, and subsidy effectiveness to ensure services reach underserved areas.
The program, including fuel transport subsidies for airports without depots, aims to maintain population mobility, logistics distribution, and access to essential goods.
“Every rupiah of subsidy must be precisely targeted. Pioneer passenger and cargo flights ensure Papuans have access to food, healthcare, and economic opportunities,” he said.
The meeting also addressed strategic matters to improve oversight effectiveness, including current security conditions, handling suspected violations of Aviation Law No. 1/2009, and ensuring pioneer flights meet operational and safety standards.
“The meeting also highlighted employee health as an important element in supporting supervisory duties that carry high operational risks. Physical and mental readiness of personnel is seen as part of the overall aviation safety ecosystem,” he said.
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Translator: Harianto, Kenzu
Editor: M Razi Rahman
JAKARTA: A pregnant woman and her unborn child in Jayapura regency, Papua, died after a series of local hospitals reportedly declined to treat her during labour, underscoring chronic problems in the region’s healthcare system.
According to the family, the woman, identified as Irene Sokoy, began experiencing signs of labor at around 3 a.m. on Sunday (Nov 16). Her husband immediately transported her by speedboat from their home in Hobong village, located on an island in Lake Sentani, to Yowari Regional Hospital, approximately 13 kilometres away.
At Yowari Hospital, staff informed the family that Irene required an emergency cesarean section. However, the hospital could not perform the operation at that time and referred her to Dian Harapan Hospital, about 25 kilometres away.
When they arrived at Dian Harapan Hospital, staff informed the family that the facility could not perform the C-section and referred them to Abepura Regional General Hospital, about six kilometres away.
However, according to the husband, Abepura Hospital also declined to treat Irene and redirected them to Bhayangkara Hospital, seven kilometres farther. At Bhayangkara Hospital, the family was reportedly told that the operation would cost Rp 8 million (US$478) and that they would need to pay Rp 4 million upfront.
Unable to afford the cost, Irene’s husband decided to continue to Jayapura Regional Hospital, another 12 kilometers away. During the journey, Irene suffered a seizure. Both she and her unborn baby died before reaching the hospital.
Yowari Hospital director Maryen Braweri confirmed that Irene had initially been undergoing normal labour at the hospital, but complications arose due to the baby’s size and the prolonged labour. Doctors then determined that she required an emergency C-section.
“Our hospital only has one obstetrician, who happened to be out of town at the time. Given the risk to both mother and baby, staff referred Irene to Dian Harapan Hospital as the nearest facility that could potentially handle the emergency,” she said on Thursday, as quoted by Tribunnews.
Dian Harapan Hospital deputy director Aloysius Giyai stated that it could not perform the C-section because the NICU was at full capacity, the maternity ward was full, the hospital’s only obstetrician was on leave and the on-call anesthesiologist was not immediately available for an emergency operation.
Meanwhile, Bhayangkara Hospital director Sr. Adj. Comr. Romy Sebastian said Irene was covered by the government’s subsidised national health insurance programme (JKN), but the rooms specifically allocated for subsidised JKN patients were full when she arrived.
“We only had VIP rooms available, so we offered the family the option to pay out of pocket, but we did not demand an upfront payment,” Romy said on Friday, as quoted by Kompas.com.
Abepura Hospital has not released a public statement. However, according to Yowari Hospital’s director Maryen, the hospital declined to treat Irene because its operating room was undergoing renovation.
The death of Irene has triggered widespread outrage on social media, with many expressing frustration over the healthcare system’s failure to provide timely treatment.
Netizens highlighted that if a woman in Papua’s capital, Jayapura, could die due to delayed care, the situation for women giving birth in more remote regions must be even more dire.
Head of Indonesia Health Volunteers (Rekan), Agung Nugroho, said Irene’s case underscored long-standing systemic issues contributing to maternal deaths in the region. “The death of Irene cannot be considered an ordinary incident. Data show Papua has a maternal mortality rate of 565 per 100,000 live births, the highest in Indonesia and far above the national average of 189,” he said on Thursday, as quoted by Antara.
“Research has shown that Papua faces persistent problems in maternal emergency services and referral processes, including delays in decision-making, inadequate patient stabilisation and uneven distribution of medical personnel,” Agung added.
He urged the government to conduct a thorough review of hospital referral processes, including an evaluation of the facilities involved in Irene’s death.
He also called on authorities to increase the number of specialised doctors, improve the skills of healthcare professionals and establish emergency funding mechanisms for families who cannot afford care.
“In a city with multiple hospitals, no mother should die because of bureaucracy or denial of service. This must not happen again. The government must act immediately,” Agung said. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
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