Transportation Ministry to officiate 4 new airports this year
Monday, June 10 2019 - 03:42 AM WIB
Transportation Ministry is scheduled to officiate the operation of four new airports in remote areas through to the end of this year.
"This year, we will complete the construction of four new airports, namely airports in Siau, Tambelan, Pantar and Muara Teweh," Director General for Air Transportation Polana Banguningsih Pramesti was quoted by Tempo.co as saying in Banjarmasin on Saturday (07/06).
Siau is an island located in the North Sulawesi Province, Tambelan is located in Bintan, Riau Island province, Pantar in Alor island, East Nusa Tenggara province (NTT) and Muara Teweh is located in Barito River, Central Kalimantan.
Polana said the airports developments are funded by the 2019 State Budget.
He added one airport, Buntu Kunging, is supposed to be officiated this year, however, the inauguration of the airport will be pushed back to next year as it requires additional funding of around Rp50 million.
Next year (2020), the government plans to develop more airports to improve connectivity across the country. These new airports are located in Silampari in South Sumatera, Murung Raya in Central Kalimantan, North Kayong in West Kalimantan, Bolaang Mongondow in North Sulawesi, New Bali in North Bali, Kediri in East Java and Singkawang in West Kalimantan.
In addition, the Transportation Ministry in cooperation with state-run airport operator PT Angkasa PUra is upgrading a number of airport terminals, including Syamsudin Noor Airport in Banjarmasin. (*)