Papua Enters Venture with Merpati: Jayapura, Papua

The Tolikara regency administration has forged a joint venture with PT Merpati Airlines, investing Rp 7.4 billion (US$822,000) in a Fokker 27 plane to serve the Jayapura-Wamena route.The initial phase of the cooperation, during which all profits will go to the administration, will last seven months.

“We have handed over the money to Merpati, and the plane will start operating today,” said Tolikara Regent John Tabo in Jayapura according to an article in the Jakarta Post.

The plane will fly the Jayapura-Wamena route three times daily with tickets costing Rp 550,000.

Tolikara is located in the Pegunungan Tengah region and Wamena acts as a transit city.

Tabo said the number of daily flights on the Jayapura-Wamena route remained limited and unable to cope with people’s transportation needs.

Regencies in Pegunungan Tengah are enjoying sufficiently rapid growth in the current special autonomy era that limited air transportation is seen as a setback.