"I plan to fly directly to Jakarta to establish coordination with the (KKP) ministry," head of the West Papua DKP Jacob Ayomi informed in Manokwari, West Papua, on Monday.
According to Ayomi, supporting infrastructure, such as an integrated fishing port, is an essential prerequisite to realize the plan of building SKPT.
Recently, he said, Kaimana District Head Freddy Thie submitted a request for support from the provincial government in efforts to build the SKPT in the district.
The idea to build the SKPT in Kaimana was based on the fact that the district is situated in the vicinity of Arafura waters, which have great fishery potential.
"I have also talked to Mr. Thie during a Development Planning Discussion (Musrenbang). We decided to coordinate about it first with the ministry," he informed.
In addition to the plan for building the SKPT, West Papua is coordinating with the central government on setting up fishing port institutions in two districts -- Wondama Bay and Fakfak.
The two districts have promising fishery potential, which may help increase their locally-generated income, if the potential is managed optimally.
"We must initially discuss about the institutionalization efforts before proceeding to build the infrastructures," Ayomi said.
He also informed that the one-stop Fish Landing Port (PPI) service in Manokwari district has become operational.
He pointed out that such a service would serve as a precedent for other district governments in West Papua, saying, "If the one in Manokwari runs properly, then it will be a benchmark for the other regions."
Earlier, the Kaimana district head had sought support from the West Papua government for constructing the SKPT as a platform for managing the abundant fishery potential of Arafura waters.
So far, only two SKPTs have been built on Papua Island—one in Biak, Papua Province, and one in Timika, Central Papua Province. There are no SKPTs in the provinces of West Papua and Southwest Papua.
"We asked for the support from Mr. acting governor of West Papua to echo (voice) this matter to the KKP Ministry," Thie said.
He highlighted that Kaimana lies very close to Arafura, saying that an SKPT is essential for carrying out fish landing activities in Kaimana considering that, to date, such activities have only been carried out in Timika or Tual, Maluku Province.
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Translator: Fransiskus, Salu, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Sri Haryati
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