Mimika Baru District to receive 128-unit home renovation programme aid

The Mimika Baru District in Mimika Regency, Central Papua, will receive assistance to renovate 128 Uninhabitable Houses (RLTH) for low-income communities in the area in 2026. Mimika Baru District Head Merlin Temorubun stated on Thursday that the home renovation scheme, known as the Self-Help Housing Stimulant Assistance (BSPS) programme, is an initiative of the Ministry of Housing and Settlement Areas. “The Ministry’s team has already arrived and together with us went to the field to verify recipient data on the ground, and the home repairs have been approved,” he said. The 128 houses to be renovated are spread across several areas in Koperapoka Urban Village, Pasar Sentral Urban Village, Kwamki Baru Urban Village, and Sempan Urban Village. “The most are in Koperapoka and Pasar Sentral because when we conducted the verification, those two urban villages had complete data,” he noted. He explained that the programme is intended for all residents of Mimika Baru, specifically those classified as underprivileged. “This programme is equitable for the people of Mimika, from decile one to decile five. For instance, if the homes of our underprivileged residents suffer damage such as leaking roofs and so on, it is through this programme that the houses are repaired,” he said. The Mimika Baru District Government has also proposed approximately 400 additional housing units to the Mimika Housing, Settlement Areas, and Land Affairs Office for renovation in the next phase through the Ministry’s BSPS Programme. He added that the Mimika Baru District Government is committed to supporting all central and regional government programmes implemented at the district level. “In principle, at the district level, we coordinate these programmes from both the Ministry and the regional government in technical agencies. We will always prepare the required data because when the ministry needs data to run a programme, it is very fast, so we must always have the necessary data ready,” he stated. He added that the current number of new residents, native Papuans arriving from coastal areas, the highlands, and other regencies in Papua and domiciled in the Mimika Baru area, is quite high. “These residents come and live with their families, so sometimes one house consists of several families. So if anyone has moved, we will certainly assist them,” he said.