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)