The Ministry of Transportation (Kemenhub) is preparing the Depapre Port in Jayapura Regency, Papua, as a hub for the eastern part of Indonesia. Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi in the FGD "Review of Depapre Port Development Acceleration Strategy and Depapre Sentani Road Infrastructure Towards Community Economic Awakening" which took place online, Tuesday, said several preparations must be made to optimize the performance of activities at ports that serve container and the pioneer passenger ship activities. "We hope that all stakeholders, from Ministries/Agencies, Regional Governments, and other related elements, will jointly play an active role and collaborate in efforts to improve the performance of the Depapre Port," said Budi Karya in a statement received in Jakarta, Tuesday.
Budi Karya said that since early 2021, this port has served a new sea toll route connecting the Papua and West Papua regions. He explained that at this time it was necessary to increase the return load from east to west. "Papua has a lot of potential for commodities ranging from fish, seaweed, wood, and so on. If this is cultivated, it will provide economic benefits for the Papuan people and can also optimize the performance of marine toll vessels because there are no empty cargoes," he said. The Minister of Transportation revealed that Jayapura Regency as a development center in Papua is currently in the national and world attention. This is marked by the construction of several infrastructures such as the magnificent and international standard Lukas Enembe Stadium, as well as Sentani Airport in Jayapura which has been developed into an international airport. "In the future, Depapre Port will become the main port which is expected to stimulate the economy in Jayapura Regency and its surroundings," said the Minister of Transportation.
The Ministry of Transportation has started to build the Depapre Port both on the land and sea sides in 2015 - 2020, with a total investment of around Rp. 175 billion using the State Budget. Land acquisition has been carried out in stages from 2007 to 2013 with a land area of 24.83 hectares of the total 74 hectares required. Reclamation work has also been carried out with an area of about 15.67 hectares. Following the National Port Master Plan, this port will continue to be developed, among others by building the Sentani Depapre road as an access road to the port. The Port of Depapre has a strategic location, which is in Tanah Merah Bay facing directly to the Pacific Ocean which can be a gateway for international trade, especially in the Asia Pacific region.
