By: Adrianus M. Kambu *)
The government’s commitment to accelerating development in Papua is taking on a more focused, measurable, and impact-oriented form aimed at improving public welfare. The launch of the Papua Development Acceleration Action Plan (RAPPP) 2025–2029 marks a new phase in Papua’s development—no longer sporadic, but structured as a joint agenda across ministries, regional governments, and local stakeholders within a solid policy framework. The RAPPP underscores the state’s seriousness in ensuring that Papua does not lag behind, whether in access to basic services, strengthening local economies, or inclusive development governance.
As a derivative of the Papua Development Acceleration Master Plan 2022–2041 stipulated under Presidential Regulation No. 24 of 2023, the RAPPP 2025–2029 is designed as a five-year operational guideline that bridges long-term vision with real needs on the ground. Through the Ministry of National Development Planning/Bappenas, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Ministry of Finance, the government positions this action plan as a critical instrument to ensure development in Papua is more focused, less fragmented, and delivers direct benefits to Indigenous Papuans. This approach reflects a paradigm shift from project-based development to results-based development.
The Minister of National Development Planning/Head of Bappenas, Rachmat Pambudy, emphasized that the success of Papua’s development is not determined solely by physical infrastructure, but also by the quality of regional leadership and the consistency of commitment from all parties. This perspective is relevant given that Papua’s challenges stem not only from infrastructure gaps, but also from social complexity, geography, and institutional capacity. By opening broad channels of communication between central and regional governments, the RAPPP serves as a platform to consolidate development needs in a more honest, realistic, and context-sensitive manner in line with Papua’s regional characteristics.
The formulation of the RAPPP—which involved the Papuan People’s Assembly, the Papua Steering Committee, traditional leaders, religious leaders, women’s groups, academics, and other community elements—demonstrates the government’s effort to place participation at the foundation of development. This approach is essential to ensure that policies do not stop at the administrative level, but genuinely reflect public aspirations. On the financing side, strengthened synergy among ministerial and agency spending, transfers to regions including special autonomy funds and additional infrastructure funds, as well as alternative financing mechanisms, evidences the government’s understanding that the scale of Papua’s development challenges requires sustained fiscal support.
This commitment is further reinforced through monitoring and evaluation mechanisms involving central and regional governments, the Papua Development Acceleration Executive Committee, and the Papua Steering Committee. Medrilzam, Deputy for Regional Development at the Ministry of National Development Planning/Bappenas, explained that the RAPPP 2025–2029 has been established under Presidential Regulation No. 107 of 2025 and comprises 19 priority programs aligned with the National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN) 2025–2029. The focus on achieving a healthy, educated, and productive Papua indicates that the government places human development at the core of its acceleration agenda.
Meanwhile, President Prabowo Subianto provided clear direction that the acceleration of Papua’s development must be supported by safeguarding national assets and strengthening food security down to the regional level. The President views food security as a fundamental pillar of national resilience, including for Papua, which faces significant geographical and logistical challenges. The push to achieve food self-sufficiency from the provincial to the district level reflects a development strategy that emphasizes regional self-reliance while reducing inter-regional dependency.
The President’s outlook aligns with government efforts to reduce logistics costs and strengthen regional resilience in the face of emergencies. Revitalizing the concept of food barns from village to national levels reflects a commitment to development that prioritizes not only growth, but also resilience and sustainability. The central government’s commitment to assisting regions with challenging geographies underscores that Papua’s accelerated development is an integral part of the national transformation agenda.
Concrete support for Papua’s development is also reflected in the President’s approval of the disbursement of funds from the divestment of 10 percent of PT Freeport Indonesia’s shares, specifically allocated for Papua. Requests submitted by Central Papua Governor Meki Fritz Nawipa, together with Papua Governor Mathius Derek Fakhiri, demonstrate proactive initiatives by regional governments to pursue innovative development financing. The President’s directive to expedite the disbursement process confirms the central government’s responsiveness to strategic regional needs.
On the other hand, private sector commitment—particularly from PT Freeport Indonesia—shows that Papua’s development acceleration is also supported by investment synergies. Tony Wenas, President Director of PT Freeport Indonesia, noted that the company’s sustainable investments have a significant impact on Papua’s economic growth through job creation, strengthening local supply chains, and fiscal contributions. Optimism regarding the national economic growth target of up to 8 percent reflects confidence that Papua’s development plays a strategic role in strengthening the economy of eastern Indonesia.
Overall, the acceleration of Papua’s development through the RAPPP 2025–2029, the strengthening of food security, and the optimization of national asset utilization demonstrate the government’s consistency in building Papua in a more equitable and sustainable manner. Integrated policies, strong national leadership, and active involvement from regional governments and strategic sectors form a vital foundation to ensure that Papua’s development is not only faster, but also more meaningful for its people.
*) Observer of Public Policy and Development in Eastern Indonesia
