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.