Wed, 07 Sep 2005

Govt to speed up new airport project

Ridwan Max Sijabat and Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan

The government said it would speed up the construction of a new airport in Medan following the crash of a Mandala plane that killed at least 150 people on Monday.

Minister of Transportation Hatta Radjasa said on Tuesday that the tender for the new airport, which has been in the planning since 1997, would be completed as soon as possible so that the project could begin early next year.

"Responding to the pubic's calls for the government to speed up the project, the (central) government along with state-owned PT Angkasa Pura II will work hard to complete the tender later this year. We hope the construction of the new airport can commence next year," Hatta said after paying his last respects to North Sumatra governor Tengku Rizal Nurdin, who died in the crash, at the latter's official residence here on Tuesday.

Rizal was among 103 people on board the plane who were killed in the accident, dubbed the worst in the country for the last five years. The aircraft crashed into a crowded residential area in Padang Bulan district, killing 47 more people on the ground.

In 1987, a Garuda plane crashed at Polonia airport when one of its wings hit an electricity pole in the housing complex. The accident left 28 people dead.

Monday's crash occurred after the aircraft failed to take off and ploughed through dozens of houses, residents and motorists. Besides possible human and technical error, many have blamed the crash on the airport's short runway and its location in a densely populated area in the middle of the city.

PT Angkasa Pura II executive Adi Supranto said the existing airport, despite its international status, was too small for medium- and wide-bodied aircraft, and was also surrounded by high buildings.

The current airport stands on 144 hectares of land and its runway is only 2.9 kilometers in length. "Ideally, a standard international airport should have a more spacious area and its runway should be at least 4 kilometers," he said.

The company has bought 1,365 hectares of land in Kuala Namo, Deli Serdang, some 40 kilometers south of Medan, and has completed the plans for the new airport.

"All the land was acquired in 1997 and the area was fenced off in 2002. We also completed the first phase of the drainage works in 2004," he told The Jakarta Post.

Adi said that a number of construction companies, including ones from Singapore, Japan and France, had submitted bids for the project, which it is estimated will cost Rp 13 trillion (US$1.3 billion).

Separately, the speaker of the provincial legislature, Abdul Wahab Dalimunte, urged the central government to accelerate the construction of the new airport before another accident happened.