goodmorningpapua.com – People in Waa Banti Village, Tembagapura District, Mimika Regency, Papua, can current enjoy clean water and electricity facilities. This is in line with improvements to clean water infrastructure and electricity installations for local residents.
The repair was carried out by PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) which disbursed US$500,000 or more than IDR 7 billion for project work carried out throughout 2021. “We hope that the improvement of clean water and electricity facilities can benefit the people living in the village of Lembah Waa Banti. ,” said PTFI’s Vice President of Sustainable Development Nathan Kum in his statement, Wednesday (9/2/2022).
The repair of the clean water and electricity system began in mid-2021 and was completed in December 2021. Meanwhile, Waa Banti is a village located 5 kilometers from PTFI’s operational area. The people of Waa Banti village had time to leave their village after the security disturbance, and in early 2021 the community had returned to their village in the Tembagapura District.
As the Waa Banti village was repopulated, the community also had problems with clean water and electricity at night because the majority of the infrastructure was damaged. PTFI with the support of the Village Head and TNI-Polri in repairing clean water infrastructure and electricity installations, residents of the village can now enjoy clean water and electricity system. “Freeport pays attention to and supports the construction and improvement of these facilities so that people can stay comfortable in their hometowns,” he added.
Meanwhile, PTFI Community Infrastructure Group Leader Rolly Nelwan said, in an effort to improve infrastructure in Waa Banti village, the severe terrain and weather became a serious challenge in working on the project. As with the improvement of clean water infrastructure, PT Freeport Indonesia has made a dam (water tank) in the Opitogong area, for about 5 kilometers from the residents’ village.
“The journey of the workers to get to the dam requires a minimum of 1.5 hours each way, so this is a challenge in itself,” said Rolly. Meanwhile, to repair electrical installations, PTFI made repairs to a generator with a capacity of 550 kVA located in the Banti II area. Repairs to electrical installations include repairing all transformers, installing electric poles, as well as repairing electricity networks in residents’ homes.
“There are so many power lines inside and outside the house that are damaged, so the repairs require a lot of time and money,” he added. However, this effort has paid off with now the residents of Waa Banti village no longer need to buy candles and can do various activities at night. With clean water, people don’t need to collect rainwater or go for a long walk to the river to carry out various activities such as washing clothes, washing dining facilities, and bathing.