As the Indonesian government focuses on developing West Papua, they continue to find a solution to speed up the project. A million special houses construction for Papua people was considered as one of the best solutions.
An Overview
In 2021, the government continued the program that has been executed since 2018. The Chief of Public Works and Housing for the region Heri Saflembolo stated that this program was a follow-up from the previous program.
He said that the construction of livable houses in Papua was executed in 13 regencies and cities. The program detailed that the houses to be constructed were type-45 houses, and that every region would receive seven units. Saflembolo also highlighted that the houses were ready for occupancy.
A Hundred and Seven Special Houses in West Papua
In 2021, the Ministry of Public Works and Housing planned to construct 147 units of special houses for the community in Papua. It was part of a million houses program. Director-General of Housing Khalawi Abdul Hamid stated that those houses would be constructed to meet the house needs of groups of people. Those people included teachers, refugees, medical forces, armed forces, and officers who work in frontier and rural areas.
The construction sites were spread in four regencies. Those were Jayawijaya by 68 units, Tolikara by 25 units, Nabire by 80 units, and Kepulauan Yapen by 24 units. The total budget for the construction of the special house was 50.9 billion rupiahs.
As many as 20 houses were planned to be constructed in West Papua. Those houses are special for armed forces. As much as 5.9 billion rupiahs were made ready for construction in Dembek Village, Manokwari.
Stimulant for House Improvement
The Ministry of Public Works and Housing continued to encourage housing quality improvement for people in Papua. A total of 10.5 billion rupiahs had been used in favor of this program. The program also detailed about improving unlivable houses. As many as 879 unlivable houses in West Papua were planned to receive some funds.
Khalawi Abdul Hamid wished that the program would make the people acknowledge the government’s support. He further stated that although the funds were only a stimulant, the vigor from local people to execute the program was huge. It could turn many unlivable houses into livable ones. Besides, the program has helped the local government to reduce the number of unlivable houses.
The 10.5-billion funds would be distributed to five regencies and one city. Those included South Sorong Regency (172 units), Maybrat Regency (311 units), Sorong Regencies (158 units), Teluk Wondama Regency (50 units), Raja Ampat Regency (112 units), and Sorong City (76 units).
Furthermore, Yance explained that people who lived in unlivable houses would receive financial support. The support was based on the conditions in the surrounding environment. As per the conditions, people in the cities would receive 23 million rupiahs. Meanwhile, the people on the highlands would receive 40 million rupiahs. The money was not in the form of cash, but rather in the form of wages for materials and builders.
Saflembolo uttered that the program was also mean to empower the local people. The program used cash for work system. In 2021, the Ministry of Public Works and Housing was quite busy. This was the result of many programs in 2020 that were migrated to 2021 due to the pandemic.
In addition to constructing houses, the government also planned to construct and develop clean water networks as well as irrigation. The government planned to integrate the infrastructure construction in Papua into the economic development program. He stated that nowadays, the Indonesian government worked hard for economic recovery.
In 2020, the government built 3,811 houses for low-income people in Papua. Meanwhile, as many as 4,834 units were constructed in West Papua.
