January 19, 2026 | 10:07 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Throughout late 2025, representatives from Pupuk Indonesia made two visits to Wamosan and Otoweri villages in Tomage District, Fakfak Regency, West Papua. They surveyed forest areas in Tomage, land targeted for the construction of several factory units. Pupuk Indonesia, the state-owned holding company for the fertilizer sector, received a government mandate to develop a fertilizer industrial zone in Papua. The company appointed its subsidiary, Pupuk Kalimantan Timur, better known as Pupuk Kaltim, to execute the project.
Salis Rumaelan, a resident of Wamosan village, said the company offered compensation money in exchange for building the factory. The project site lies between two villages with a combined population of about 1,000 people from nine clans. “This is the first time a company has come into our area,” said the 37-year-old man, speaking to Tempo by phone on Thursday, January 15, 2026.
Tomage District became the third proposed site for the fertilizer project in Papua. Initially, the plant was planned for Teluk Bintuni Regency, a natural-gas hub and the main feedstock for ammonia used in urea production. But Bahlil Lahadalia, who was then Minister of Investment and Head of the Investment Coordinating Board, suddenly moved the project to Fior and Andamata villages in Arguni District, still within Fakfak Regency. President Joko Widodo led the groundbreaking ceremony there on November 23, 2023. For Bahlil, Fakfak held deep personal significance as the place where he grew up.
In Fior, construction was scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2024, with commercial operations projected for 2027. The production facilities were estimated to cost Rp28.4 trillion (about US$1.7 billion). The plant, located on land belonging to the Mbaham Matta indigenous community, was designed to produce 825,000 tons of ammonia and 1.15 million tons of urea annually.
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