Govt to privatize Ngurah Rai airport

Govt to privatize Ngurah Rai airport

I Wayan Juniartha, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali

The Ngurah Rai International Airport in the popular resort island
of Bali will be offered to private investors as early as December
this year as part of the government's privatization program, a
senior minister said.

Minister of Transportation Agum Gumelar said on Friday that
the government would sell a 49 percent stake in the airport.

"This airport will attract a lot of interest from investors
because it has already shown a large volume of traffic, both
passengers and goods. That is why Ngurah Rai is being singled out
for privatization," he said.

Last year some 4.8 million passengers landed at the airport,
which generated some Rp 300 billion in profit.

Agum, however, said that Ngurah Rai was still performing below
its maximum capacity of 9 million passengers.

He said that the privatization drive was expected to help
improve the airport's performance both in terms of improving
services and generating more profit for the government.

Agum said that interested investors should have solid
experience in managing international airports.

But I Gatot Pujo Martono, president of state-owned PT Angkasa
Pura I, which manages the airport, said that only non-aeronautic
businesses would be privatized, leaving the aeronautic service
still in the hands of the government.

The non-aeronautic division accounted for about 30 percent of
the airport's 2002 profit of Rp 300 billion.

The official also asserted that the privatization program
would not jeopardize the jobs of the airport's 800 employees.