Pertamina to hand over Pinangkampai airport to government

State owned oil and gas company Pertamina will soon hand over the management and operation of the Pinangkampai airport in the oil town of Dumai, Riau to the ministry of transportation and communications for commercial use, a local official of the company has confirmed.

The spokesman for the state owned oil and gas company's production unit in Dumai, Mirza Bahra said in Dumai on Thursday that the handover of the airport was still being processed by the ministry of finance.

"The transfer of the airport is still waiting for the approval from the ministry of finance," he was quoted as saying by the Riau Pos on Friday.

The airport operation, which is now fully handled and financed by Pertamina, serves small aircraft to support oil exploration and production activities in the province. It mostly serves flights to Batam and Pekanbaru.

After the transfer of the management and operation, the airport will be managed by state owned airport operator Perum Angakasa Pura.

The Dumai mayor, Wan Symasir hailed the handover plan and hoped the airport would be able to serve flights from Dumai to Pekanbaru, Jakarta, Batam and neighboring Singapore and Malaysia. (*)