RI Govt Committed To Securing Border Areas

Tarakan, N. Kalimantan, Dec 16 (Antara) - The central government is committed to securing its border areas by developing infrastructure and improving the living conditions of the people, stated Cabinet Secretary Andi Widjajanto. "We are committed to develop our border areas because the dignity of our nation lies there," he told journalists on the sidelines of his visit to the North Kalimantan city of Tarakan on Tuesday. The government has been committed to improving the quality of infrastructure facilities such as roads and bridges in the country`s border areas, he noted. "The government wants to make its people living in the border areas proud of being Indonesian and will not let them feel inferior," Widjajanto emphasized. In the meantime, Acting North Kalimantan Governor Irianto Lambrie said his government will prioritize infrastructure and economic development projects on the province`s border areas as part of the mid-term development plan (2015-2019). "What we are going to do first is the construction of a 12-kilometer-long road that will be carried out at a cost of Rp25 trillion," he remarked at a meeting held to discuss the regional development plan here on Monday. The construction of roads and bridges is a basic necessity to connect every rural area in the province, he pointed out. However, the province`s border areas have no hospital with good medical equipment and facilities, Lambrie added.