Mataram to get int'l airport

Mataram to get int'l airport

MATARAM, West Nusa Tenggara: An international airport will
soon be built here, replacing the province's inadequate airport,
Selaparang, after a year-long delay due to the economic crisis,
Antara reported on Saturday.

Governor Harun Al Rasyid said the plan was in response to
offers from foreign investors to construct the airport on Lombok
island, one of the country's tourist destinations.

"Many foreign investors have expressed interest in building
the airport as long as they are allowed to build hotels," he said
in his address to 100 members of the Bali chapter of the Pacific
Area Travel Association (PATA) on Friday night.

He added the new airport would stand on 600 hectares of land
in Penujak village in the Central Lombok district. The project is
expected to commence in the next fiscal year, pending approval
from the central government.

Four countries just recently lifted their travel ban to
Lombok, which was rocked by riots in January. (01)