Govt to speed up new airport project
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.