Angkasa Pura funds roadwork

TANGERANG (JP): PT Angkas Pura II, which manages Soekarno- Hatta airport, has provided Rp 20 billion (US$200,000) to help the Tangerang mayoralty administration construct an alternative access route to the airport.

Tangerang Mayor Mochammad Thamrin said on Thursday the money would only be used to finance the roadwork.

Thamrin also said developer PT Lencar Sempurna had promised to provide Rp 4 billion to compensate some 300 families in Neglasari district who would be affected by the project.

There have been increasing calls for an alternative route to the international airport. The only current access road to the airport, Jl. Prof. Sedyatmo, often floods during the rainy season.

"The airport is one of the entrance gates to our country. It would be an irony if foreign tourists found their way to and from the airport blocked," Thamrin said.

A spokesman for the Neglasari residents who will be affected by construction of the new road, Mochammad Ichsan, demanded transparency in determining the amount of compensation these families are to receive.

"We have to be informed about how much money is allocated for our relocation," Ichsan said. (41)