Teluk Wondama in West Papua used to be part of the Manokwari Regency. However, the local government’s strong desire of making Teluk Wondama an autonomous region managed the district to receive its self-governing status on April 12, 2003. For sure, the independent status has been granted according to decent reason; this regency is known to have great geographical conditions and socio-cultural aspects as well as abundant natural resources.
Moreover, the West Papuan region’s rapid infrastructure development helps boost economic activity in all its areas. That’s also why many people are starting to look at business investment opportunities in West Papua regions, especially in Teluk Wondama Regency. Due to this fact, get more insights into one of the most economically promising West Papuan regencies and explore potential investment opportunities in Teluk Wondama.
The Future of Infrastructure Development in West Papua
Before taking a deeper look into investment opportunities in West Papua, especially in Teluk Wondama Regency, it’s necessary to know how Indonesia’s current infrastructure development is. As a developing country, Indonesia has been working hard to accelerate equitable development in all provinces to diminish economic disparities.
To make this plan a success, the central government has decided to speed up the infrastructure development on many islands, especially Papua—which is still lacking in infrastructure. So, the expansion in Papuan land will include roads, bridges, hospitals, and airports.
As for the West Papuan trans roads, 1,071 km of the routes have been connected since 2018; 743 km were asphalted, while the rest are still ground pavements or aggregate. Aside from that, the West Papua trans road itself is divided into two segments. Segment I, Sorong-Maybrat-Manokwari, stretches along 595 km, and segment II is the Manokwari-Mameh-Wasior-the boundary of Papuan Province with a length of 476 km.
Infrastructure Development in Teluk Wondama Regency
With the acceleration of infrastructure development in West Papua, many areas in this province are showing good economic growth, including Teluk Wondama Regency. Thus, now the central government collaborates with the regency authorities to build major basic infrastructures such as transportation, water resources, energy and electricity, housing and settlements, and telecommunication.
According to a report on Teluk Wondama’s official government website, this regency’s identified roads are 462.09 km in total, until 2010. Currently, the trans road of Wasior-Windesi-Manokwari is being constructed, with the developed sections reaching more than 92 km in length. This trans road construction is built across some nearby residential and potential areas as well.
Furthermore, the local government has planned to increase the Wasior-Tandia (southern district) and Wasior-Wasior Utara (northern district) roads for more balanced development in Teluk Wondama. Along with that, the regency authorities have considered building the road artery of Windesi-Nabire, Fak-Fak, Kaimana, which can connect Teluk Wondama’s potential areas with more regions.
Investment Opportunities in Teluk Wondama Regency
Investment opportunities in West Papua, particularly in Teluk Wondama, are growing strongly from year to year. This regency has a nice climate and lush land with a rich production of food crops. Cassava and rice are some of the major food crop products in Teluk Wondama’s horticultural sector. The cassava farm has 605.4 acres, while the paddy fields cover about 496.6 acres of this regency land.
Another strength of Teluk Wondama’s economy comes from its plantation sector. For instance, 98,842 acres of land are available to be developed into plantation fields in the Wosimi-Inyora—an area section of the Wasior Barat and Wasior Selatan districts. In addition to what has been said, coconut, cocoa, and coffee have become plant varieties that can thrive easily in this regency’s plantation area. The cocoa production reaches more than 158,000 tons per year, while the coffee plantation produces 4,200 tons of beans for a year.
Other sectors that offer profitable investment in Teluk Wondama are livestock and poultry products. Aside from the fact that the growth of livestock and poultry industries themselves is relatively steady, this regency comes up with various types of animals for investment options. There are domestic animals such as goats, deer, pigs, and cows to opt for the livestock choices. Meanwhile, the poultry products come from chickens and ducks.
However, when talking about potential business investments in Teluk Wondama, the fisheries sector will become a mainstay. This regency has a maritime zone of about 3,423,150 acres, covering 197,684 acres of coral reef ecosystems and 3,225,466 acres of aquatic habitat. In the meantime, its coastline areas stretch along 500 km in length.
With large marine areas and the diversity of sea animals living in Teluk Wondama’s waters, it is not wrong to conclude that its fisheries sector has a great prospect to be developed. The high-value maritime commodities from this regency are tuna, lobster, sea cucumber, and Lola snails (a species of large sea snail usually found in Pacific and Eastern Indonesia oceans).
Offering all that economic prospects, examining investment in Teluk Wondama is, of course, worth considering. On top of that, the government has encouraged infrastructure development in West Papua, affecting economic growth in all regencies.
