Accompanied By Iriana, President Jokowi Inaugurates The Structuring Of The Labuan Bajo NTT Region

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo inaugurated the arrangement of the Puncak Waringin Area, Batu Cermin Area, and eight roads in Labuan Bajo during his working visit to East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) Province.

"Thank God, the construction of various infrastructures to support tourism in Labuan Bajo has been completed and Labuan Bajo is ready to welcome the arrival of tourists," said President Jokowi at Puncak Waringin, Komodo District, West Manggarai Regency, quoted by Antara, Thursday, October 14.

The Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) and the Ministry of Transportation carried out a large-scale arrangement in Labuan Bajo. Infrastructure in Labuan Bajo is complete, while Komodo Airport in 2022 will develop its runway and terminal.

"Then we also saw that hotels, souvenir centers, 'creative hubs', amphitheaters, plazas, 'citywalks', and other public spaces have all been repaired. All areas and ports that specifically serve phinisi, yachts and cruises are ready," said the President.

The Head of State explained that after it was inaugurated, the important thing that needed to be done immediately was a massive promotion and preparing Labuan Bajo for holding national and international events.

"Later on, this will be a supporter of the G20 Summit (High Level Conference) and we will also use it for the ASEAN Summit in 2023," added the President.

After inaugurating the arrangement of the Puncak Waringin Area, Batu Cermin Area, and eight roads in Labuan Bajo, President Jokowi and First Lady Iriana Jokowi walked to Kompas Bajo in the Puncak Waringin area.

Yori Antar, the architect who designed Kompas Bajo, said that the location is the best place to enjoy the Labuan Bajo area because from that place visitors can enjoy sunset views three times better than other places.

"Here we can see the sunset, the silhouettes of the islands, and the silhouettes of hundreds of phinisi ships," said Yori.

Kompas Bajo was built in the style of a traditional Manggarai house. This building with a conical roof is a "creative hub" for the creative economy community in NTT, especially Labuan Bajo which contains a souvenir center, ikat weaving center, lounge, souvenir center, and so on.

To note, the arrangement of the Puncak Waringin National Tourism Strategic Area (KSPN) will be carried out starting in August 2019 and completed in March 2021 with an area of the area being laid out covering 0.39 hectares and costing IDR 28.86 billion.

The emphasis on the arrangement of Puncak Waringin is the cultural theme of works of art (public artworks) that tell the history and culture of Labuan Bajo. The location is on a hilltop and downtown Labuan Bajo and can function as a place for cultural performances while enjoying the view of the Flores Sea.

Meanwhile, the Batu Cermin KSPN began to be arranged in March 2020 and will be completed in March 2021 with an area of 2.9 hectares with a budget of Rp29.83 billion.