Trans-Papua Highway
{{update|date=May 2024}}
{{Short description|Major road in Indonesia}}
{{infobox road
|country= IDN
|marker_image =
|name = Trans-Papua Highway
|alternate_name = Jalan Raya Trans-Papua
|length_km = 4325
|established =
|direction_a = South
|terminus_a = Merauke, South Papua
|junction =
|provinces={{unbulleted list
|West Papua}}
|terminus_b = Sorong, Southwest Papua
|countries = Indonesia
|cities = {{unbulleted list
|etc}}
}}
The Trans-Papua Highway (Indonesian: Jalan Raya Trans-Papua) refers to 12 road segments, some under construction, across Western New Guinea in Indonesia, located in the island of New Guinea. The roads stretch from Sorong to Merauke with a total length of {{Convert|4325|km|mi|abbr=on}}.{{cite web |last=Kaway |first=Rikardo |title=Jalan Trans Papua Telah Dibangun, Tudingan Natalius Pigai Keliru |url=http://www.harianpapua.com/jalan-trans-papua-telah-dibangun-tudingan-natalius-pigai-keliru/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312045652/http://www.harianpapua.com/jalan-trans-papua-telah-dibangun-tudingan-natalius-pigai-keliru/ |archive-date=March 12, 2017 |access-date=March 10, 2017}} As of March 2017, {{Convert|3850|km|mi|abbr=on}} of roads had been completed{{cite web |date=March 7, 2017 |title=Trans-Papua road set to be completed next year |url=http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/03/07/trans-papua-road-set-to-be-completed-next-year.html |website=The Jakarta Post}} and construction on all the roads was predicted to finish in 2018,{{cite web |author=Aditiasari |first=Dana |date=7 Jan 2016 |title=Ini Penampakan Jalan Trans Papua |url=https://finance.detik.com/ekonomi-bisnis/3112503/ini-penampakan-jalan-trans-papua |access-date=March 10, 2017 |website=Detik}} but construction was delayed in late 2018 due to armed conflict.
The completed road segments include 884 out of Indonesia's 1,068 km border road with Papua New Guinea.{{Cite web |last=Rahadian |first=Taufik |date=7 March 2017 |editor-last=Subagja |editor-first=Indra |title=Jalan Trans Papua Membentang di Atas Pegunungan |url=https://kumparan.com/kumparannews/jalan-trans-papua-membentang-di-atas-pegunungan |access-date=2023-03-19 |website=kumparan |language=id-ID}} As of May 2017, the remaining parts of the road, including 7,000 meters of bridges, were planned to be completed in 2017 and 2018,{{Cite web |last=Hidayati |first=Nurul |date=10 May 2019 |editor-last=Muslimah |editor-first=Salmah |title=Trans Papua, Membelah Gunung Menuruni Lembah |url=https://kumparan.com/kumparannews/trans-papua-membelah-gunung-menuruni-lembah |access-date=2023-03-19 |website=kumparan |language=id-ID}} although not all of the road has been layered by asphalt. As of October 2020, the road was only 200–300 km from completion.{{cite web |last=Elisabeth |first=Asrida |date=2020-10-05 |title=Jalan Trans Papua Hampir Semua Terhubung, Dampak bagi Orang Papua dan Lingkungan? |url=https://www.mongabay.co.id/2020/10/05/jalan-trans-papua-hampir-semua-terhubung-dampak-bagi-orang-papua-dan-lingkungan/ |access-date=2020-12-07 |website=Mongabay}}
Road segments
=In West Papua and Southwest Papua=
=In Papua, Central Papua, Highland Papua, and South Papua=
File:Trans-Papua Highway Deiyai-Mimika.jpgThere are 8 road segments in Papua with a total length of {{Convert|2345.40|km|mi|abbr=on}}; of which by the end of October 2019, only 31.96 km is not yet connected. 874,45 km of the connected segments is layered with asphalt, and 1.465,46 km yet to be layered with asphalt. {{cite web |author= |date=October 28, 2019 |editor-last=Alexander |editor-first=Hilda |title=Tinggal 31,96 Kilometer Lagi, Seluruh Trans Papua Tersambung |url=https://properti.kompas.com/read/2019/10/28/090000721/tinggal-31-96-kilometer-lagi-seluruh-trans-papua-tersambung}}
- Segment I: Kwatisore-Nabire, 208.10 kilometers (Central Papua)
- Segment II: Nabire-Wagete-Enarotali, 275.50 kilometers (Central Papua)
- Segment III: Enarotali-Ilaga-Mulia-Wamena, 469.48 kilometers (Central Papua-Highland Papua)
- Segment IV: Wamena-Elelim-Jayapura, 447.22 kilometers (Highland Papua-Papua)
- Segment V: Wamena-Habema-Kenyam-Mumugu, 271.60 kilometers (Highland Papua-South Papua)
- Segment VI: Kenyam-Dekai, 217.90 kilometers (Highland Papua)
- Segment VII: Dekai-Oksibil, 231.60 kilometers (Highland Papua)
- Segment VIII: Wagete-Timika, 224.00 kilometers (Central Papua)
Impact
Connections of the road opened access to many isolated areas in Papua region, which has not been possible previously.{{Cite web |last=Strangio |first=Sebastian |date=27 July 2021 |title=Adriana Elisabeth on the Conflict in West Papua |url=https://thediplomat.com/2021/07/adriana-elisabeth-on-the-conflict-in-west-papua/ |access-date=2021-08-03 |website=thediplomat.com |language=en-US}} According to Mongabay, while the road brings benefit to native Papuans in terms of availability of goods and access to healthcare facilities, the road also has potentially harmful consequences such as opening way for illegal logging, intensifying contacts between several tribes that could lead to tribal conflicts, and leaving previously isolated towns and villages economically dominated by those from bigger cities.{{Cite web |last=Nauly |first=Yacob |date=26 March 2019 |title=Warga Sorong Rasakan Manfaat Jalan Trans Papua Sorong-Merauke |url=https://www.suarakarya.id/metro/pr-2601658621/Warga-Sorong-Rasakan-Manfaat-Jalan-Trans-Papua-SorongMerauke- |access-date=2021-05-21 |website=SUARAKARYA.ID |language=en-US}} Analyst of public policies, Agus Pambagio argued that the construction should be advised by anthropologist to take cultural factors into account.{{Cite web |last=Fadli |first=Ardiansyah |date=2021-03-15 |editor-last=Alexander |editor-first=Hilda |title=Antropolog Harus Dilibatkan, Jangan Sampai Jalan Trans-Papua Jadi Karpet Merah buat Pembalak Liar |url=https://www.kompas.com/properti/read/2021/03/15/140000121/antropolog-harus-dilibatkan-jangan-sampai-jalan-trans-papua-jadi-karpet |access-date=2021-05-21 |website=KOMPAS.com |language=id}} The road is also feared to damage Lorentz National Park, which is a protected natural area.{{Cite web |last=Demianus |first=Jimmy |date=1 October 2020 |title=Catatan Untuk Pembangunan Jalan Trans Papua |url=https://kumparan.com/jimmy-demianus/catatan-untuk-pembangunan-jalan-trans-papua-1uJ69mPQdD7 |access-date=2021-05-21 |website=kumparan |language=id-ID}} Papuan governor Lukas Enembe criticized the road construction, saying that the road "mostly has not been used" by native Papuans.{{Cite web |last=Sadikin |first=Rendy Adrikni |date=2019-08-23 |title=Lukas Enembe: Jalan Trans Papua Bukan untuk Orang Papua |url=https://www.suara.com/news/2019/08/23/110950/lukas-enembe-jalan-trans-papua-bukan-untuk-orang-papua |access-date=2023-03-19 |website=suara.com |language=id}} Armed wing of Free Papua Movement rejected the road construction, saying that it is "used for military purposes".{{Cite web |last=Suripati |first=Chanry Andrew |date=2018-12-05 |title=OPM Tak Mau Pembangunan Jalan Trans Papua tapi Ingin Kemerdekaan : Okezone News |url=https://news.okezone.com/read/2018/12/05/340/1987326/opm-tak-mau-pembangunan-jalan-trans-papua-tapi-ingin-kemerdekaan |access-date=2021-05-21 |website=news.okezone.com/ |language=id-ID}}
Incident
{{main|Nduga massacre}}
During the construction of the highway at least 20 construction workers in Nduga were killed by soldiers of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB),{{Cite web |last=Tehusijarana |first=Karina Maharani |date=7 December 2018 |title=Papua mass killing: What happened |url=http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2018/12/07/papua-mass-killing-what-happened.html |access-date=2018-12-13 |website=The Jakarta Post |language=en}} who claimed the highway was meant for military enforcement rather than economic benefit, and was built by military members disguised as civilian workers.{{Cite news |last=Davidson |first=Helen |date=5 December 2018 |title=West Papua: conflicting reports surround attack that killed up to 31 |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/dec/05/west-papua-fears-of-spiralling-violence-after-attack-leaves-up-to-31-dead}} As of December 2018, the project is suspended temporarily due to security concerns.{{Cite web |last=Belau |first=Arnold |date=4 December 2018 |title=Trans-Papua road project suspended amid worsening security |url=http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2018/12/04/trans-papua-road-project-suspended-amid-worsening-security.html |access-date=2018-12-13 |website=The Jakarta Post |language=en}} In late January 2019, about two months after the attack, project managers said construction would resume using combat engineers from the Indonesian military.{{Cite news|url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/381245/indonesian-military-to-complete-trans-papua-highway|title=Indonesian military to complete Trans-Papua Highway|date=2019-01-30|work=Radio New Zealand|access-date=2020-12-07}} About a month later in March, the TPNPB soldiers returned and killed three Indonesian soldiers.{{Cite news|url=https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2019/03/08/tni-soldiers-killed-in-clash-with-west-papua-liberation-army.html|title=TNI soldiers killed in clash with West Papua liberation army|date=2019-03-08|work=Jakarta Post|access-date=2020-12-07}}