Pontianak airport upgraded

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)