Serui, Papua — The Papua Provincial Public Works and Spatial Planning Office has begun preparing repairs for several roads and bridges in Yapen Islands Regency, including access routes to the airport that are considered vulnerable to landslides and possible collapse.

Acting Head of the Papua Provincial Public Works and Spatial Planning Office, Natir Renyaan, said priority handling would focus on the Menawi–Semerbaba road section, which has suffered severe landslides.

“The road section is called Menawi–Semerbaba. This year, the Public Works Office has already included it in the main regional budget, and the procurement process is currently underway. Hopefully, construction workhand can begin soon, especially at the landslide point we passed earlier,” Natir said in Serui on Wednesday (20 May 2026).

He explained that the landslide mitigation project for the road section is budgeted at nearly Rp5 billion.

The work will include the installation of gabion retaining structures, road embankment works, and road widening.

“This year’s project is estimated to cost nearly Rp5 billion. The work items include gabion installation, embankment work, and road widening,” he said.

In addition to the Menawi–Semerbaba road, the Papua provincial government has also proposed infrastructure repairs for the Serui–Ansus and Serui–Kamaran–Ansus road sections in the 2026 revised regional budget.

According to Natir, there are at least three critical points requiring retaining walls to prevent road access from being cut off.

“If it is not handled quickly, eventually the road will collapse completely. Earlier, when I came from the airport, I saw that if it is not immediately addressed, the road could be entirely severed,” he said.

Natir added bridge construction proposals from residents are also being documented by the government. However, most are still in the planning stage before physical construction can begin.

For rivers with short spans, he said the government is considering the use of box culverts to speed up implementation.

“If the river is only five meters wide, we can simply build a box culvert so the crossing can become functional more quickly.” he said. (*)