Can Only Be Accessed By Foot And By Air, The Transportation Agency Collaborates With Helicopter Companies To Open Flights To Oya Village, Papua

Helicopter illustration. The Indonesian Air Force's Super Puma helicopter. (ANTARA-Dhoni Setiawan)

PAPUA - The Department of Transportation (Dishub) of Teluk Wondama Regency has opened access for helicopter flights to Oya Village, which is located in the interior of West Papua. The effort of Dishub was after cooperating with a helicopter flight service provider company.

The Head of the Wondama Bay Transportation Agency, Bernardus Setiawan, said that access to 12 helicopter flights until the end of 2022 is to provide services to people who live in remote and isolated villages.

"The plan is that there will be 12 trips there so it can be once a month. But because it is calculated based on hours of use, it can be reduced because in one use it can take how many hours depending on the needs at that time," explained Bernard during a working meeting with Commission C DPRD Teluk Wondama in Isei, Tuesday, quoted from Antara, August 2.

Oya Village in the Naikere District or Sub-district is a small village located in the western interior, near the border of Wondama Bay with Kaimana Regency.

The village, which is inhabited by residents of the Mairasi Tribe, can only be reached by foot, or by another option, namely using air transportation.

The inaugural helicopter flight to Kampung to Oya began on Friday 29 July. The helicopter fleet hired by the Teluk Wondama Regency Government carried a team that would install the V-SAT and SSB equipment and when they returned to Wasior they transported sick patients in Oya.

The budget for helicopter rentals, according to Bernard, comes from the diversion of subsidy spending for the airline Susi Air.

The Wondama Regency Government previously collaborated with Susi Air for flight services for the Wasior-Manokwari PP route through a subdivision scheme.

"The budget is from the transfer of subsidies to Susi Air. Our calculations for one fiscal year need Rp. 2.2 billion. But because it has only started in July, we have prepared Rp. 1.6 billion and it has been paid for, so it is just a matter of implementation," he said.

Commission C DPRD Teluk Wondama supports Dishub's move to hire helicopters to be able to provide more intense services to residents in isolated areas that so far have rarely received a touch of development.

“From the beginning, we supported it because the people there really needed the service. We hope that all OPD can take advantage of this helicopter service to be able to provide services to the people in Oya," said Chairman of Commission C DPRD Teluk Wondama Remran Sinadia.