Adisucipto aims to be Java cargo service hub

Slamet Susanto, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta

Yogyakarta's Adisucipto Airport starts to prepare itself to become the hub of cargo services for Java region, especially that of the southern parts of the island.

Earlier this month, for example, the airport's management company PT Angkasa Pura I has appointed two private-owned cargo companies to professionally manage the business and open new cargo markets under a profit sharing scheme.

The two private companies are PT Dharma Bandara Mandala for the domestic cargo services and PT Global Anindya Mataram for the international ones.

According to Operational Manager M Gatot of Adisucipto Airport's PT Angkasa Pura I, a cargo warehouse, office complex, and administration system has also been under preparation to support the cargo services at the airport.

Built some 200 meters away from the main airport, the constructional works of the physical building of the airport's cargo service center will finish next year that the service can also be in effective operation the same year.

"Once it is already in full operation, handicraft products as well as agricultural and marine ones that has so far faced difficulties to be internationally marketed can be exported through the airport," Gatot told The Jakarta Post.

That way, he said, would hopefully increase the export volume, both of the agricultural products, fishery, and handicraft industries in the region, and thus will also eventually help small and medium enterprises improve their business.

The international cargo service in Adisucipto Airport, according to Gatot, so far was stagnant. But, that was not due to the lack of potentials. It was more because of lack of sufficient international cargo facilities.

"The potential here is very big. We have plenty of handicraft and furniture products. The potentials of the neighboring cities, too, are as big as that of Yogyakarta," Gatot assured.

A staff with PT Dharma Bandara Mandala agreed, saying that the domestic cargo potential of Adisucipto Airport was very big with an average capacity of 10 tons of cargo per day presently.

"If properly managed while new markets are also opened, I do believe the capacity is far above the figure," said Yogi, the staff, adding that the current capacity accounted only for cargo to Indonesia's big cities.

"Being a tourist destination as well as handicraft city, I'm quite sure that the capacity can be twice or even three times bigger than the current one," he added.

Speaking separately to the Post Yogyakarta provincial Secretary Bambang Susanto Priyohadi said that the provincial government was very supportive toward the pledge to make Adisucipto the hub of cargo services in Java.

"We are currently inviting investors to invest here and help develop small and medium enterprises in Yogyakarta," Bambang said.

To ease the products of small and medium businesses enter the international market, according to Bambang, the provincial government has also launched a program to improve the quality of their products.

The program is carried out by providing soft loan to them, in cooperation with a bank. In this case, the provincial government prepares Rp 20 billion of fund while the bank prepares Rp 120 billion to be further offered to the enterprises as soft loans.

Bambang also said although the international cargo service had yet been maximally managed at Adisucipto Airport, the service had shown a good prospect here.

Jamu Merit, herbal medicine products from the neighboring town of Magelang, Central Java, for example, have for some time been exported to Malaysia through Yogyakarta's Adisucipto Airport.

A try out of exporting mushroom products from Wonosobo, also in Central Java, to Thailand and other countries, according to Bambang, has also been conducted at the airport.

"There are many other agricultural and fishery products here that have yet been exported due to the lack of an international cargo facility. This facility will help the products reach the destination country faster and fresher," Bambang said.

Bambang, therefore, expressed hope that the establishment of an international cargo service at Adisucipto Airport would in turn encourage people to export agricultural and fishery products from Yogyakarta and the surroundings.

To support the program, the provincial government has also built a sufficient parking area at the north of the airport. At the same time, the airport's management company is also building a new passenger terminal with a capacity of 5,000 passengers per day.

The previous capacity was 700 passengers a day while the number of passengers has reached up to 3,500 passengers a day at present.