"One of the border checkpoints called PLBN Sota in Merauke (Papua) has been completed since its construction was started in 2019. Construction of the other border checkpoints will be started this year. The coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs will report preparations for the inauguration of the border checkpoint to the president," Public Works and Housing Minister Basuku Hadimuljono noted in a press statement released on Thursday.
Construction of the remaining 10 border checkpoints will be completed at the end of December 2020, except for the Oepoli border checkpoint, which still awaits a state border agreement between Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi and her Timor Leste counterparts, he revealed.
Construction of the 11 border checkpoints will cost an estimated Rp651 billion to be sourced from the budget fund allocated to the Public Works and Housing Ministry through the Directorate General of Housing, Planning and Urban Development this year.
He stated that the border checkpoints will not merely function as border crossing checkpoints but also as new economic growth centers by building markets, among others. As such, the presence of the border checkpoints will boost the local people's welfare.
The border checkpoints will be equipped with facilities, including the main building, integrated arrival check building, medical clinic, carwash/disinfectant, weighbridge, truck scanner, weight check building, and warehouse.
The plan to build 11 border checkpoints is stipulated in Presidential Instruction No. 1 of 2019 on the accelerated construction of 11 border checkpoints and supporting infrastructure and facilities in the border area.
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Translator: M Razi Rahman/Suharto
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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