Batam airport to accommodate jumbo jets
Batam airport to accommodate jumbo jets
JAKARTA (JP): State Minister of Research and Technology B. J.
Habibie said yesterday that Hang Nadim airport on Batam Island,
located some 20 kilometers southeast of Singapore, will be able
to handle jumbo jets next year.
"The extension of the airport's runway from 3,600 to 4,000
meters will be completed next year to enable it to serve wide-
body jets like the Boeing 747-400," he told reporters after
meeting with Singapore Minister of Transportation Mah Bow Tan at
his office here.
He said that Hang Nadim will be developed as an international
airport for both scheduled and chartered passenger and cargo
flights.
"I told Minister Mah Bow Tan that the airport will operate as
a point-to-point terminal both for international flights serving
Europe, Asia and Australia and domestic flights," Habibie added.
As Batam is being developed as an export processing or bonded
industrial area, the airport will also handle international air
cargo, he said.
"Such services will expand both domestic and regional air
transportation between Batam and its surrounding areas, including
Bintan Island and Singapore," he said.
Batam has been developed since the early 1970s as an
industrial and tourist center. Hang Nadim airport is located on
the island's east coast.
Habibie said Indonesia and Singapore will need to hold regular
meetings in the future to improve cooperation and to avoid
potential problems, especially in air transportation.
Meanwhile, Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto told
reporters after a separate meeting with the Singapore minister
yesterday that issues relating to the two countries' bilateral
air agreement were not discussed.
"We will discuss that matter in another meeting in the near
future. In principal, our relationships with Singapore are based
on mutual benefits," he said, adding that the two countries
should respect each other.
Haryanto told the Post earlier this month that the air
agreement between Indonesia and Singapore, which is usually
amended every two years, will be discussed later this month.
(icn)