Opposition grows to proposed airline

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.