New era for Papua border market

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Thu, 01/04/2007 2:32 PM

Nethy Dharma Somba, The Jakarta Post, Jayapura

Trade Minister Mari E. Pangestu is putting Rp 3 billion (US$333,333) into developing the previously illegal Skouw market on the Papua New Guinea-Indonesia border.

The money, which was received by Papua Governor Barnabas Suebu, was handed over along with this year's Rp 12.5 trillion central government budget for the province.

The market is visited by around 200 people a day and numbers rise to more than 500 on weekends, with daily transactions recorded at around Rp 120 million. Most of the market's customers are Papua New Guinea people who take advantage of the favorable exchange rate to buy cheap Indonesian products.

""The Papua New Guinea customers usually buy foodstuffs, electronic appliances, apparel and farming equipment as well as building materials,"" said a trader, Nawir, a native of Makassar who sells bags and shoes.

He said foreign customers found local products cheaper because one kina was worth around Rp 2,900.

Nawir estimated his daily turnover at Rp 2.9 million, while another trader, Nurjanah, said his was more like Rp 3 million.

The market, built in December 2004 on a one-hectare plot of land, hosts around 125 traders mostly from cities in Java and Makassar. They rent spaces for between Rp 500,000 and Rp 1 million a year from a local landowner.

However, the market is unregulated and the administration collects no taxes from local businesses.

""We hope the government will regulate this market to wipe out its illegal businesses,"" Nawir said.

Mari said the market's development was an effort by the local administration, businesspeople and the central government to improve the area's image, increase local revenues and improve the welfare of Papuans living in border areas.

Traders said the border was more secure after the provincial government became involved.

""It's very safe here -- there are no security disruptions either in the daytime or at night. Our stalls are makeshift ones and we regularly cover our merchandise with just tarpaulins but we never lose it,"" said Nurjanah, who has traded at the market for about a year.

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