Lee Kuan Yew's dream comes true in Silangit

The development of Silangit Airport can be traced to 1982, when former Singapore prime minister Lee Kuan Yew visited Lake Toba to address an international meeting.

Potsdam Hutasoit, a member of House of Representatives Commission IV for transportation and infrastructure, told The Jakarta Post last week that Lee had dreamed of an internationally accessible airport near Lake Toba, the biggest lake in the region.

Transportation problems always obstructed development, especially tourism, in Lake Toba, said Hutasoit.

"I hope an easily accessible airport can be built here," Lee told participants of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders meeting in Parapat, a small mountain town to the east of Lake Toba, about 50 kilometers from Pematang Siantar, North Sumatra.

"With this wonder, it shouldn't be hard to get tourists to come here," Hutasoit quoted Lee as saying after inspecting the construction of the airport in Silangit, about five kilometers north of Siborong-borong subdistrict, North Tapanuli district, North Sumatra.

Hutasoit said Lee had stated that 500 Singaporean tourists would arrive three months after the airport was constructed. People in Singapore need mountainous areas with cold weather like Lake Toba as an alternative tourism destination, he said.

Efforts to realize the vision had been pursued since then, but due to financial constraints, it was only approved by the central government in 2002.

The airport is due to be completed next year, with a flight time of one hour from Singapore and 1.5 hours from Jakarta. -- JP