Opposition grows to proposed airline

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan

Opposition grew on Wednesday to the North Sumatra government's plan to establish an airline company amid the country's prolonged financial crisis.

Critics said the plan would be of no benefit for the economically disadvantaged, but instead would only benefit the rich.

Deputy speaker of the provincial legislative council Serta Ginting urged the local administration to postpone the plan for the next 10 years due to the current economic turmoil.

"In such a crisis period, the provincial administration should make better use of the fund for the interests of people at large," he told The Jakarta Post.

At least seven regencies in the province's western coastal areas, including Central Tapanuli and North Tapanuli, signed on Tuesday a memorandum of understanding in support of the plan to establish a North Sumatra airlines.

They also agreed to build airports in their respective regions. The amount of funds to be allocated for the projects is not known.

North Sumatra Governor T. Rizal Nurdin said on Tuesday that the projects were aimed at ending the isolation and backwardness of districts in the western coastal areas, so economic activities there would grow in the coming years.

"We need to launch a beat to push the development wheel in the western coastal areas," he added.

He said that compared with the province's eastern coastal areas, the regions in the western parts had been left behind in terms of development.

However, Serta dismissed claims that the airline's establishment would provide any significant support for the business activities of poor people because they could not afford to travel by plane.

"It's not fair. What should be developed now is land transport facilities leading to the western coastal areas, not airports," he added.

Serta also suggested that North Sumatra concentrate on the stalled plan to build an international airport in Kuala Namu to replace Polonia Airport that can no longer be expanded due to its location in Medan's city center.

Opposition to the planned North Sumatra airlines also came from students in Central Tapanuli.

Hosen Hutagalung, leader of the city's Communications Forum for Students and Youths, said the project would only cause envy on the part of the socially disadvantaged as only the rich would be able to afford to travel by plane.

What the government should do is to develop infrastructure to boost the income of fishermen and farmers in the western coastal areas, he said.

"The crucial project is not the North Sumatra airlines. It would be better to implement the program in the next 20 years," Hosen told the Post.