Postal company to buy F-28 aircraft for airmail
Postal company to buy F-28 aircraft for airmail
JAKARTA (JP): PT Pos Ekspres Prima has signed a contract with the Fokker company of the Netherlands for the purchase of two F- 28 aircraft for its airmail services, a company executive says.
President of state-owned PT Pos Indonesia, Cahyana Ahmadjayadi, told reporters that Pos Ekspres Prima, which was established by Pos Indonesia's pension fund and PT Rajawali Wirabhakti Utama, would take delivery of one F-28 aircraft this month and the other one by the middle of next year, he said.
Cahyana said that one F-28 aircraft would cost US$1.5 million.
Most of the funds for buying the aircraft, he said, would come from Rajawali Wirabhakti, while the pension fund would contribute Rp 6.75 billion (US$2.9 million).
Cahyana said that after the aircraft were delivered, several months would be needed to modify the planes and enable them to operate as cargo carriers. The first plane, which would carry the logo of Pos Indonesia, will start operation next March.
Cahyana said the cooperation between Rajawali and Pos Indonesia would be based on a two-year contract.
Pos Ekspres Prima operates in the airmail and air cargo business. It has headquarters in Jakarta and branches in cities linking its service networks, including Surabaya, Medan, Batam, Ujungpandang, Manado and Denpasar.
"There has been a request from Jardine of Singapore to rent the aircraft for cargo transportation between Ambon and Manado during the daytime, when the airplanes are not operating," Cahyana said.
Commenting on the efforts to restructure Pos Indonesia, Cahyana said the company had cut the number of its working regions from 14 to 11.
Working regions in West Kalimantan, North and Central Sulawesi and Maluku have been integrated into the Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Maluku-Irian Jaya posts, respectively.
Pos Indonesia, he said, has also established new divisions, such as the philately, package posting, transportation, property and technology and information systems divisions.
"The new divisions are embryos of the company's new subsidiaries, which will be developed as part of our business strategy," he said. (icn/pwn)