Jambi-Batam with Fokker-28

JAKARTA (JP): State-owned Merpati Nusantara Airlines plans to operate Fokker F-28s on the Jambi to Batam, Riau, route to take advantage of the abolition of exit taxes within the Indonesia- Malaysia-Singapore Growth Triangle effective as of Monday.

Merpati's district manager, Max Mandagi, said in Jambi that the air carrier will link Jambi and Batam with F-28 jets every Wednesday and Saturday starting Nov. 16.

Merpati currently operates CN-235 aircraft on the Jambi-Batam daily route, Antara news agency reported yesterday.

Riau is one of the country's eighteen provinces that make up the three subregional economic cooperation areas or growth triangles, which link all ASEAN countries except Vietnam. These areas are the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle, the Indonesia-Malaysia-Singapore Growth Triangle and the Brunei- Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area.

The exit tax exemption in these economic cooperation areas was stated in Government Regulation No. 57/1996. The exit taxes are Rp 250,000 (US$107) for travelers leaving the country by plane and Rp 100,000 for those traveling by ship. (icn)