Batam to have $10m aircraft facility
By I. Christianto
BATAM ISLAND, Riau (JP): The island of Batam, which has been developed as an industrial and tourism center since the early 1970's, will soon have an aircraft maintenance facility jointly owned by Indonesian and Singaporean parties.
The agreement for the US$10 million facility, called PT Batam Aircraft Maintenance, was signed here yesterday.
The facility will be the second largest after the one operated by Garuda Indonesia at the compound of the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta.
The participants were four Indonesian companies and one Singapore company comprising the National Aircraft Manufacturer Industri Pesawat Terbang Nusantara (IPTN) which will have 25 percent ownership; the foundation of Adi Upaya of the Air Force (Yasau) which will have 20 percent ownership; and Sempati Air, one subsidiary of the Humpuss Group owned by President Soeharto's youngest son Hutomo Mandala Putra, which will have 20 percent ownership.
The other parties includes PT Saltim Mitra Corporation and Singapore Aerospace (SAe), an affiliate of the Singapore Technologies Holdings. Saltim and SAe will hold 10 percent and 25 percent ownership in the joint venture, respectively.
PT Saltime Mitra Corporation is a joint venture between the Salim Group, the country's largest business owned by Indonesia's richest man Liem Sioe Liong, and Timsco Group owned by Syatim Aburrachman (Timmi) Habibie.
The agreement, signed by IPTN's director of aircraft services Mangatur Pardede, Sempati's president Hasan M. Soedjono, Saltim's president S.A. Habibie, Indonesian Air Force's deputy chief of staff Sugiarto who represented Yasau, and SAe's president Quek Poh Huat, hopes to anticipate the increasing necessity for better aircraft maintenance centers in Asia.
Collaboration
State Minister of Research and Technology B.J. Habibie said that the mega-project will be a collaboration to share and combine the technical expertise, management experience, human resources and marketing networks of the five parties.
Meanwhile, Pardede said: "IPTN, the all-Indonesian designed aircraft manufacturer and SAe will provide management and technical assistance for the joint venture, while Yasau will construct the project's infrastructure facilities."
He added that the project's construction will start soon and will be completed within 18 months, as the facility is planned to start operations in the middle of 1996.
He said that the idea was first prepared in late 1991 but initially faced serious obstacles as all the parties involved were big companies.
He said that the facility will handle the full range of aircraft maintenance services, focusing on airframe overhaul for narrow-body and commuter airplanes. Pardede added that they will not compete with Garuda Maintenance Facility in Jakarta.
Meanwhile, Quek said that SAe will also provide a comprehensive range of services for both military and civilian aircraft, including maintenance, modification and upgrade services to the customers on a global base.
The 415 square kilometer island of Batam, located some 20 kilometers Southeast of Singapore, will actually have an international airport with 4,000-meter runway.
Habibie said that, as the island will be very busy with industrial activities, the airport here should be able to handle jumbo jets serving both international scheduled, chartered passenger and cargo flights.