JAKARTA, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- A senior Indonesian official said Tuesday that government has allocated about 172 million U.S. dollars each year to finance new road projects in Papua to reduce distribution costs in the far-flung easternmost province.
"Government has allocated around 2.3 trillion rupiah (about 172 million U.S. dollars) this year and for the following years," Road Development Director General at the ministry, Arie Setiadi Moerwanti said.
According to him, the allocation takes up 60 percent of the overall budget to finance road projects across the nation. The remaining 40 percent would be used to finance road projects in western region, he added.
The higher road infrastructure allocation for eastern region was part of government efforts to reduce the gap between economic-vibrant western region and the less accessed eastern region, he said.
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PacificSentinel: While they don't mention it in the story, this expanded road network will make it easier for the Indonesian army to move around and harder for the Free Papua Movement to remain undetected.
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