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