Palembang to have new airport

PALEMBANG, South Sumatra: South Sumatra's capital, Palembang, will have an international airport by 2001, an official said here yesterday.

Antara quoted head of the PT Angkasa Pura airport authority here, Asman Soetjipto, as saying that the city's Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin Airport will be expanded to become an international airport.

An international airport will turn Palembang into an international gateway, he added.

Soetjipto said the building of two parallel 2,200-meter taxiways and a 2,500-meter runway will start later this month and be completed in three years.

The airport will include a passenger lounge that can accommodate 500 to 600 passengers, two passenger terminals and other facilities, he added.