Transport Development Priorities in Papua and West Papua

The province of Papua of the Republic of
Indonesia was provided special autonomy under law 21-2001 in
recognition of the fact that 'the management and use of
the natural wealth of Tanah Papua has not yet been optimally
utilized to enhance the living standard of the natives,
causing a deep gap between the Papua province and the other
regions, and violations of the basic rights of the Papuan
people.' The goal of special autonomy was to help Papua
and Papuans catch up to the rest of Indonesia in terms of
living standards and opportunities. Yet, now almost a decade
later, and after the split into two provinces: Papua and
West Papua, progress toward this goal has been slow. In
recognition of this, the Indonesian central government
issued presidential instruction 5-2007 on the acceleration
of development of Papua and West Papua instructing all
relevant technical ministries to devote special attention to
the two provinces and to coordinate their programs with the
governors of both provinces. Transport is a key piece of the
development puzzle and is a high priority for all levels of
government in Papua and West Papua. Yet, despite this, and
large amounts of investment channeled toward the sector, the
people of Papua and West Papua are not receiving
substantially better transportation services than they were
before special autonomy. This report aims to set out a set
of priorities that transport development must follow in
Papua and West Papua if investments are to be productive and
remain useful for their entire design life.