Airstrip to open on Kepulauan Seribu

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

To attract a larger number of tourists to the resorts on Kepulauan Seribu (Thousand Islands) regency, the city administration is repairing and developing an airstrip on Panjang isle, the construction of which will start next year.

Regent Djoko Ramadhan said investors from Saudi Arabia and Malaysia would take part in the expansion of the currently idle airstrip from 900 meters to 1,000 meters at a total cost of Rp 35 billion (US$3.5 million).

"We believe the expansion of the airstrip will boost the tourist industry in Kepulauan Seribu regency. Currently, transportation is the main problem," Djoko said after reporting the project to Governor Sutiyoso on Wednesday.

He said the islands could currently only be reached with rented speedboats or small, traditional fishing boats.

According to Djoko, some 90,000 tourists -- 70,000 domestic tourists and 20,000 foreign tourists -- visited nine isles last year, which contributed Rp 2 billion to the city revenue.

But the tourist industry has the potential to expand if the airstrip -- which is badly damaged after not being operational for about 10 years -- works well, said Djoko.

The airplanes that used to land there were of a small capacity, such as Cassa 212, twin otter and DHC6.

According to Djoko, the new airstrip can accommodate a 50- seater airplane.

The airstrip will be open for chartered as well as commercial planes from Jakarta, Lampung, Surabaya and Medan.

He added that air traffic control for the airstrip will be operated from the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang.

The new airstrip will be equipped with various supporting facilities like storage, restaurant, houses for employees, as well as piers to transport tourists to nearby isles.

Djoko said tourists currently only visited nine out of 45 islands in the regency, namely: Sepa, Bidadari, Bira Besar, Hantu, Kotok Timur, Kotok Tengah, Matahari and Putri isles.

According to him , after the completion of the airstrip expansion, the regency will also invite investors to develop other isles as tourist resorts.

"All isles in Kepulauan Seribu regency have the potential to be developed as a tourist destination. Therefore, we will invite investors to start business there," he added.