Under President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo’s plan to develop Papua, the Indonesian government is set to build a 595 kilometre long railway from Sorong to Jayapura under a project known as KA Trans Papua.
The development of the KA Trans Papua — stretching from Sorong to Manokwari before heading to Nabire and ending in Jayapura — will take in several stages, according to the General Directorate at the Ministry of Transportation.
The first stage will be completed by 2019 and focuses on the development of the line between Sorong and Manokwari, a 390 kilometre stretch. This will be followed up by the completion of the Manokwari to Nabire from 2020 to 2024.
The third phase will connect Sarmi-Nabire-Timika and eventually Jayapura from 2025 to 2030. This railway segment will stretch as far as 205 kilometres.
The Ministry has completed the Environmental Impact Analysis at the Detailed Engineering Design for the project as part of the feasibility study.
Construction is planned to begin next year and will be funded by the state budget. Land acquisition will begin this year, with a target of being completed by 2019 so as not to delay and segment of construction.
The project is expected to cost around Rp.152.5 billion (US$11.46 million), with Rp.5 trillion (US$375.91 million) in funding needed for 2018 and Rp.5.4 trillion (US$406.26 million) for 2019.
Though the funding is expected to derive 100 percent from the state budget, the government is open to potential investors.
The KA Trans Papua is expected to ease travel for locals and tourists alike, who at this stage find public transportation difficult.
See: Indonesia To Build Papua Naval Base
Image credits: Detik
