'Bilateral accords to stress Batam air cargo access

'Bilateral accords to stress Batam air cargo access

JAKARTA (JP): New bilateral air agreements will stipulate that
all large air freighters must load and unload at Hang Nadim
airport on Batam Island near Singapore, Minister of
Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto said yesterday.

The government wants to turn Hang Nadim airport into an air
cargo hub and will make all its bilateral air agreements
accordingly, the minister said.

But the rule on air freight loading and unloading at Hang
Nadim will only be applied to big cargo jets which do not carry
perishable goods.

"If they carry perishable goods, they may fly directly to
Manado or Ujung Pandang," Haryanto said.

According to the government's plan, air cargo from Batam will
be distributed to other parts of the country by feeder freighter
services operated by domestic airlines.

The plan will help develop Batam airport and domestic cargo
carriers, he said.

The plan does not affect cargo companies operating in
Indonesia because none of them operate big cargo jets.

"They may continue their operations as they do now," he said.

The government has not yet issued a ruling on air cargo
services to Batam but its plans for Batam have influenced all
negotiations on air cargo services to Indonesia, Haryanto said.

Haryanto said the ministry had rejected an application from
the Federal Express cargo company of the United States to fly big
cargo jets to the country.

The Hang Nadim airport has been renovated to become an
international airport with its runway extended to more than four
kilometers for jumbo jets. But its cargo terminal has been
dismissed by freight companies as inadequate for international
cargo.

Haryanto said the facilities at the airport's cargo terminal
would be further developed by the airport authorities or cargo
companies.

"The authorities of Batam cargo terminal have to complete the
facilities there in four to five years. Otherwise, we shall drop
the plan," he said.

The plan to make Batam airport a cargo hub requires a cargo
carrier network linking Batam to other parts of the country. Only
one scheduled air cargo company, SMAC (Sabang Merauke Air Cargo),
flies from Batam to Singapore and Balikpapan daily.

Haryanto said the cargo carrier network linking Batam and
other parts of the country would develop gradually.

But the plan has been criticized by businessmen as another new
cost to business.

Rene Dotulung from PT Cardig Air, a domestic warehousing and
cargo handling company, told The Jakarta Post the plan would be a
boon to domestic airlines but would raise industrial enterprises'
costs.

"I think the government should pay more attention to our
manufacturing industries than to our airlines." Dotulung said.
(jsk)