VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan called to apply regulations necessitating visitors of Raja Ampat, West Papua Province, to take back home their plastic waste to conserve the tourism area.

"Microplastics are dangerous if they are eaten by fish, especially if later, (the fish are) consumed by humans. Their impact on health is very bad," he stated during a working visit to West Papua Province on Thursday, as quoted from a statement on Friday.

Pandjaitan visited several locations in Raja Ampat, such as Marinda Airport, Waisai Harbor, and Waisai Torang Cinta Beach.

He emphasized that the Raja Ampat tourism destination must continue to be preserved.

"As the owner of one of the most beautiful and notable tourism destinations in the world, West Papua must protect God's gift (the Raja Ampat tourism area)," the coordinating minister remarked.

Prior to visiting the tourism attraction, he had held a coordination meeting on public infrastructure developments in the province to review the progress in work of the projects and address any hindrance in order to ensure their smooth running.

"Through these developments, we will not only improve (public) connectivity but also advance the regions in West Papua," he noted while chairing the coordination meeting in Sorong City, West Papua Province.

Some of the projects discussed during the meeting included the 3,462-kilometer (km) Trans Papua Road; several strategic access roads; Siboru Fak Fak Airport; Sorong Port, Arar Port, and Waisai Port; as well as seaplane airport.

In addition, other projects discussed were blue infrastructure for water management; the Tangguh Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Train 3 Project; as well as regional economic development to increase the value chain of local food sources and support national food security.

Pandjaitan expects all projects to run according to the determined schedule, though the developments should refer to the study results.

Hence, he said that the local governments could invite the local universities and academics to help in conducting the research.

Pandjaitan emphasized that in future, West Papua Province should be able to conduct industrial downstreaming of its abundant natural resources, for instance, the Tangguh LNG Train 3 Project, as it is considered to have a positive impact on the regional economy, increase the added value, and create new jobs.

Furthermore, a petrochemical plant can be established in the Bintuni Bay Industrial Estate to utilize the abundant gas resources in the province, he noted. (Antaranews)