Pontianak airport upgraded

JAKARTA (JP): The West Kalimantan provincial administration is upgrading Pontianak's Supadio Airport into an international gateway linking it to towns in Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and the Philippines, Antara reported on Thursday.

Governor Aspar Aswin told the West Kalimantan legislative council in Pontianak that the landing strip of the airport was extended to 2,250 meters, sufficient for Boeing 737s, in 1997.

"Other airport infrastructure and facilities were completed in 1997," Aspar said in his accountability speech at the meeting. Also in attendance was the Malaysian consul for Pontianak, Raja Achmad bin Raja Daud.

Supadio's emergence as an international airport comes as West Kalimantan is increasingly involved in various joint cooperation programs with neighboring countries.

They include the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asian Growth Area, the Indonesia-Malaysia-Singapore Growth Triangle and the Social-Economy Malaysia-Indonesia.

The administration has also been upgrading and modernizing ports in the province to help facilitate exports, particularly crude palm oil, from the province, the news agency said.

The three main ports in West Kalimantan are located in Pontianak, Ketapang regency, and Sambas regency. (02)