PUPR Minister Calls 5 Papuan PON Arenas Completely Built

Minister of PUPR, Basuki Hadimuljono. (Irfan Meidianto/VOI)

JAKARTA - PUPR Minister Basuki Hadimuljono said the five arenas of the National Sports Week (PON) in Papua had been completed. This was conveyed after holding a limited meeting with President Joko Widodo (Jokowi).

"There are several venues that the PUPR Ministry is working on, eight and five (venues) have been completed 100 percent," Basuki said in an online press conference broadcast on the Presidential Secretariat's YouTube, Tuesday, July 13.

The five venues that have been completed are the international standard aquatic arena, the istora arena which will be used for several sports, cricket arena, indoor and outdoor hockey arenas.

In addition, Basuki also said that the track used for motor racing in the sporting event had been completed.

"Preparing the lane for motor sports in Merauke, we repair the road or improve the 7.36 km road between Merauke, Kurik, and Tanah Miring roads," he said.

As for the other three venues, namely for roller skating, archery, and rowing events in Yutefa Bay, currently it is 95.85 percent. The plan, these three venues will be completed around the end of July.

"So all the venues assigned by the Ministry of PUPR have been completed to be used for the PON in October," said Basuki.

In addition to preparing the venue for the competition, he also explained that his ministry is building 15 towers of flats that will function as additional accommodation for athletes and officials.

These dozens of towers, said Basuki, have been designed in such a way that they can be used after the PON event is held. This prevents the building from being abandoned and can be used later.

The flats are built in various strategic places and can accommodate around 2,500 beds. So, after the PON is over, it is the turn of the people and the State Civil Apparatus (ASN) who need it to be able to occupy it.

"We built these flats by considering the use of post-PON. So we built these flats for the needs of MBR, low-income communities managed by the Regency and City Governments," he concluded.