Thousand Islands to build airstrip
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
As part of the effort to boost tourism in the Thousand Islands regency of Jakarta, the administration has begun work on expanding the existing 930-meter-long airstrip on Panjang isle to 1.4 kilometers.
A feasibility study on the expansion plan is under way, said regent Djoko Ramadhan Tjakrawardana on Tuesday.
"We expect the study, which will cost Rp 1 billion (US$112,359), to be completed by the end of this year so we can proceed with the construction work next year," he told The Jakarta Post.
He did not state the cost of the project.
Djoko said the development of the airstrip, which would cater to accommodate medium-sized planes, like the Fokker F-28 with passenger capacity between 40 and 60 seats, would help facilitate tourists to the resort islands.
Panjang isle is a strategic hub to reach satellite islets. The regency has a total of 106 islets, 11 of them are designed for resort islands, but only nine are currently operational. Among tourist attractions available are the marine parks, heritage site and sea farming.
"Currently, we could only use small boats and ferries to reach the islets, which takes at least one hour from Jakarta's Marina berth in Ancol, North Jakarta," Djoko remarked.
Poor access, he asserted, was the main reason why the regency's economy -- which is inhabited by around 20,000 people, or 5,000 families -- failed to thrive, although the Jakarta administration has upgraded the former district area into a regency on Nov. 9, 2001.
As a regency, the Thousand Islands has to be able to ease its dependency on the provincial budget.
The regency's 2004 budget was Rp 124.6 billion, simply a meager amount compared to the outstanding city budget of Rp 11 trillion in 2004. This year, it has allocated a total of Rp 266.8 billion for the administration's daily operations.
Djoko said his administration would welcome investors to take part in the development of air transportation since "it will be too costly for us to develop it with our own cash-strapped budget."
Besides poor access, he added that his regency also has a lack of human resources.
"Many of the residents have graduated from religious schools, which is not bad, but we need those with skills and knowledge to explore and exploit the potentials of the islands, especially on tourism, fishery and other natural resources."
He revealed that some foreign companies operating oil rigs in the islands' waters have pledged to provide scholarships for local students as part of their community development programs.
The regency has also worked together with the Bogor Institute of Agriculture in an aquaculture project to develop seaweed farming, fish farming and fish breeding in 200 hectares of shallow water around Semak Daun island.
The administration has a total of 2,000 hectares of sea with less than two-meters deep, which could be used for aquatic projects.