Firms invited to build, operate new airports

Firms invited to build, operate new airports

JAKARTA (JP): The government will invite local and foreign
firms to build and expand airports in the country under a build,
operate and transfer (BOT) contract.

Transportation Minister Haryanto Dhanutirto told newsmen here
Saturday that the projects, which will consist of the
construction of two new airports and the expansion of four
existing ones, would cost around US$1.46 billion.

"A special team will soon be established to oversee the
planned airport projects," Haryanto told newsmen following his
meeting with President Soeharto.

He said the team will comprise of high ranking officials from
the offices of the Coordinating Minister for Economy and Finance
and the Coordinating Minister for Trade and Industry, the
Investment Coordinating Board, the Ministry of Finance and the
National Land Agency.

Haryanto described the establishment of the team as an
important breakthrough in the recently launched investment
reforms. Among other things, these reforms will allow foreign and
local firms to enter the country's airport business under a BOT
contract.

The new airports will be built in Medan, the capital of North
Sumatra province and in Central Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara.
Existing airports which will be expanded will include the Juanda
Airport in Surabaya, East Java, the Adi Sumarmo Airport in Solo,
Central Java, the Hasanuddin Airport in Ujungpandang, South
Sulawesi and the Sam Ratulangi Airport in Manado, North Sulawesi.

The planned new airport in North Sumatra will be built in
Kualanamu of Deli Serdang, near the province's capital of Medan,
to replace the operation of the aging Polonia airport.

Haryanto said the Polonia airport is no longer adequate to
meet future expansion of air traffic.

Interest

"A number of foreign companies have expressed a keen interest
to build the new airport in Medan, including Schiphol of the
Netherlands," the minister said, adding the new airport will be
built in two stages on a 2,200-hectare plot. Around 1,200
hectares of the designated land will be used for civil aviation
and the remainders for the Indonesian Air Force.

The construction of the new airport in Medan, which will have
two runways of around 3,000 and 4,000 meters in length
respectively, will cost at least $600 million.

The construction of the new airport in Central Lombok will
cost around $169.37 million. Local and foreign companies will be
also involved in the construction and operation of the airport
under a BOT contract.

The expansion of the Juanda Airport in Surabaya will cost
around $114.6 million, the Adi Sumarmo in Solo around $130
million, the Hasanuddin Airport in Ujungpandang around $270
million and the Sam Ratulangi Airport in Manado around $179
million.
"The expansion will enable the four airports to accommodate large
aircraft like Boeing 747-400 planes," the minister said.

Haryanto Dhanutirto explained that the expansion of the
airports will be also based on BOT contracts but he said that the
arrangements should be jointly set with state-owned Perum Angkasa
Pura, the present operator of the airports.

The minister also reported to the President about the public
suggestion to partly hand over air transportation services for
haj pilgrims to Mecca to private airline companies from the
state-owned Garuda Indonesia.

"The President decided that the transportation for haj
pilgrims should be solely handled by Garuda," he said, adding
that private airline companies are allowed to join the haj
transportation by, for example, leasing planes to Garuda.

More than 150,000 Indonesians went to Mecca for haj pilgrimage
a few weeks ago. (hen)