Batam to compete with Changi as int'l flight hub
Batam to compete with Changi as int'l flight hub
JAKARTA (JP): Hang Nadim Airport on Batam Island, Riau, which
can now accommodate jumbo jets, is ready to compete with
Singapore's Changi Airport as an international transport hub.
Director General of Air Transportation Zainuddin Sikado said
that the price of aviation fuel on Batam, located some 20
kilometers southeast of Singapore, is 20 percent cheaper than in
Singapore.
"It's still hard, however, for international air carriers to
transit at Hang Nadim, as the flow of goods and passengers is
still low," Sikado said.
Hang Nadim, whose runway has been extended from 3,600 meters
to 4,000m, can now accommodate Boeing 747-400 jets. A B-747
aircraft owned by Garuda Indonesia landed safely at the airport
on Sunday.
Hang Nadim, which will be officially inaugurated by President
Soeharto on Dec. 11, now boasts a 170,000-square-meter apron, an
80,000-sq-m passenger terminal and a 48,600-sq-m cargo building.
The airport will be operated as an international airport for
both scheduled and chartered passenger and cargo flights. A
number of cargo services to Asian countries (Malaysia, Thailand,
Japan, Taiwan, China and Hong Kong), Europe (the Netherlands,
Germany, Switzerland and France) and Australia will be originate
from Hang Nadim, the Antara news agency reported yesterday.
Batam has been developed since the early 1970s as an
industrial and tourist center. Hang Nadim airport is located on
the east coast of the island, which is overseen by the Batam
Industrial Development Authority. The Batam authority is chaired
by State Minister of Research and Technology B.J. Habibie.
Services
"The most important thing will be how Batam improves the
quality of its services," Sikado said in relation to the current
low level of traffic passing through the airport.
There are currently 11 domestic flights to and from Batam each
day. Twelve additional domestic destinations are due to be served
from the airport during the current Sixth Five-Year Development
Plan period, which ends in March 1999.
Meanwhile, Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto told
reporters after meeting with President Soeharto yesterday that
the flight information region (FIR) of Hang Nadim airport will be
controlled by Changi Airport in Singapore.
"This is a kind of joint operation, as the two airports are
located very close to one another," he said.
He said that Hang Nadim will welcome any air carriers.
"President Soeharto has even offered the American cargo
company Federal Express -- through U.S. Secretary of
Transportation Federico Pena, who visited Indonesia recently --
that it make Batam its hub in Asia," he added. (icn)