REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BIAK -- The Papua Provincial Administration will conduct a feasibility study in 2015 to construct a railway network on the island.
A member of the feasibility study team of the Papua Province Accelerated Development Agency Hariman Dahrif stated that the proposal to construct a railway network in Papua has been included in the national mid-term action plan.
"We hope that the feasibility study can be completed in 2015. If the feasibility study is completed, we will proceed with the infrastructure development action plan," Hariman noted.
Hariman remarked that the construction of the railway network on Papua Island will create a new chapter in the history of Papua as its people would be able to avail a new means of transportation in the area, besides road and air travel.
The railway network can support the necessary distribution of goods throughout Papua, particularly in the remote areas, where the goods are priced higher as compared to the other regions of the country.
Hariman noted that the first phase of the railway construction will connect Timika to Nabire and cover a distance of 450 kilometers.
The Papua Provincial Administration has planned to commence the construction of the railway network in 2015.
"The construction is included in the strategic program policy of Papuan Governor Lukas Enembe that aims to improve the welfare of the Papuan people and to make them independent and prosperous by building the railway transportation service," Hariman added.