Government Committed to Continuing the Development of Border Areas
President Jokowi inaugurates an Integrated Cross-Border Post (Cabinet Secretariats PR)
Since the beginning of his office, President Joko Jokowi Widodo has determined to build Indonesia from the outskirts. Therefore, development at border areas become the focus of the President. A border should be the countrys front yard. So, it must be pretty.
With the increase of economy and social infrastructures, the life of the people living at the border areas can also increase because these area could be the new center for economic growth. According to acting Secretary of National Border Management Agency (BNPP), Hadi Prabowo, the Government boosts infrastructure development relating with the communitys basic social needs, for example education facilities. The Government has constructed elementary schools in 32 provinces, junior high schools in 20 priority locations, as well as high schools and vocational schools in 30 priority locations.<>
In addition, clean water supply system has been also established in 56 priority locations and facilities for raw water supply has been developed in 21 locations.
Health infrastructure, for example Community Health Center (Puskesmas), has been constructed in 44 priority locations. There are 575 health workers working in 68 Puskesmas, for example in Saumlaki, Hadi says.
To support food security, the Government has a program to open new rice fields. In West Kalimantan, this program has succeeded to open 1,049 hectares of rice field that has produced 2,343 tons of rice. This program is also conducted in Papua and has succeeded to open 2,115 hectares of rice field and produced 6,345 tons of rice.
In terms of energy supply, Hadi explains that there are six power plants in six priority locations which construction is still underway. In the upcoming years, 47 units of power plants in seven priority locations will be constructed and power plants in 120 villages at border areas will be expanded.
In the meantime, the construction of type C and D markets has exceeded the target whereas the construction of type A and B markets by Ministry of Trade is still underway.
To support connectivity between regions, at the moment there are nine sea tolls that serve route from Tanjung Perak to Saumlaki and Tanjung Perak to Maumere.
Regarding road infrastructure, Hadi explains, at West Kalimantan border, 742.4 out of the target 849.8 kilometers of road has finished. Meanwhile at East Kalimantan border, from the target 243.6 kilometers, only 76.5 kilometers remaining unfinished. At North Kalimantan border, from the target 826.7 kilometers, only 116.9 kilometers remaining unfinished. The total length of road in Kalimantan is 1,920.10 kilometers, and 300.7 kilometers of it has not finished yet.
Meanwhile in East Nusa Tenggara, the target of road development is 176.2 kilometers and only 25.10 kilometers of it remaining unfinished. In Papua, only 215.6 kilometers of road has not finished yet.
From 2015 to 2017, the Government has developed 36 airports and eight sea ports. Furthermore, it also boosts the procurement of pioneer ship in East Nusa Tenggara and North Kalimantan.
Budget allocation for BNPP in 2017 is Rp 186 billion and due to set blocking in 2017, the number decreases to Rp 173.48 trillion.
Regarding the development of Integrated Cross-Border Post (PLBN), according to Hadi, by the end of the year, the target of development of seven border posts based on the 2015 Strategic Plan has been realized. Even, five of them have been inaugurated by the President during 2016-2017 with asset revenue reaches Rp944 billion. In the future, the Government to build PLBN in nine locations. At the moment, BNPP is drawing up the regulations as well as master plan and the construction is expected to be realized by 2019. (Humas Kemendagri/EN) (MMB/YM/Naster)
