Citra Lamtorogung to build new airport in North Sumatra
Citra Lamtorogung to build new airport in North Sumatra
JAKARTA (JP): PT Citra Lamtorogung Persada, a company owned by
President Soeharto's eldest daughter Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana, has
won a contract to build a US$600 million airport near Medan, the
capital of North Sumatra.
The company, in cooperation with Schiphol airport of the
Netherlands, will construct the airport, to replace the aging
Polonia airport, on 2,200-hectares of land in Kuala Namu, Deli
Serdang, about 20 km from Medan.
"We will start the construction of the new airport by the
middle of next year," Hardiyanti, nicknamed Tutut, said during a
meeting with the North Sumatra's governor, Raja Inal Siregar, on
Friday.
She said the new airport will replace the Polonia airport,
which is not adequate to meet future expansion of air traffic or
the development of Medan.
Tutut said the construction of the new airport will be
completed by 1998.
"The new airport, which will have two runways with lengths of
3,000 and 4,000 meters respectively, will be able to accommodate
large aircraft like Boeing 747-400 or Boeing 777-Mega Top
planes," Tutut was quoted by Antara news agency as saying.
Foreign airline
She said many foreign air carriers are expected to serve the
province on the completion of the new airport. KLM, a Dutch
airline, will be the first foreign airline to serve the new
airport.
The government previously approved the construction of new
airports by private firms.
Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto said recently
that the government is inviting local and foreign firms to build
and expand airports in the country under a build, operate
and transfer (BOT) contract.
However, the arrangements should be set jointly with state-
owned Perum Angkasa Pura, the present operator of Indonesian
airports, Haryanto added.
Tutut said some 30 percent of the cost for the construction of
the Medan airport will be financed by the government and the
remaining 70 percent by the private firms.
She said that besides commercial flights, the new airport will
also be the home base of the Indonesian air force.
A source at the North Sumatra provincial administration said
the government has not decided on a name for the new airport. Two
names, however, have been proposed; "Adam Malik", the second vice
president under President Soeharto's presidency, and
"Sisingamangaraja XII", North Sumatra's local hero.
The source said the local administration has also asked Tutut
to construct a freeway and a railway to facilitate passengers
traveling to the new airport. (02)