Merauke Bridge

Merauke Bridge

From Merdeka

Thirty-four years after the Trikora (Threefold People's
Command), which included the liberation of Irian Barat (now Irian
Jaya), the development of the eastern part of Indonesia,
particularly Irian Jaya, has been very slow. This is in spite of
the President's speech before the plenary session of the House of
Representatives on Aug. 16, 1995, which reiterated the need to
accelerate development in this area.

PT Freeport Indonesia, which mines gold, silver and copper in
Irian Jaya, was supposed to help develop that province. But in
reality the construction of the Merauke Bridge over the Maroo
River has been halted due to a lack of funds. All the workers are
idle. On the other hand, the construction of the Kapuas and
Mahakam bridges in Kalimantan and the Batanghari bridge in
Sumatra have been completed without any hindrances. Why is the
Merauke Bridge treated as a stepchild?

We appeal to the Ministry of Public Works to speed up the
construction of the bridge so that it can be completed before the
35th anniversary of Trikora in December next year.

Name and address

known to editor