JAKARTA, Dec 28 — The new Kuala Namu International Airport in North Sumatra will be inaugurated in March 2013, reports Indonesia’s Antara news agency.
People believe that the airport will boost the national and regional economic growth as the much awaited airport will become the new international transit centre in Sumatra and other western parts of Indonesia, Antara said.
Spread over 1,365 hectares, the Kuala Namu Airport will be Indonesia`s
second largest airport after the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in
Jakarta.
Speaking at the Sumatra Governors Coordination Meeting in Medan, Joko
Waskito, the airport’s project manager, expressed hope that the airport will be
operational by March 2013.
According to Joko, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will inaugurate the
Kuala Namu Airport in March 2013. “90 percent of the airport is completed. The airport will be operational before March 2013,” he said.
Waskito explained that the 1,365-hectare airport has a terminal area measuring 118,930 sq metres, a parking area measuring 50,820 sq metres and a cargo garage measuring 13,000 sq metres.
“The airport has sophisticated equipment. The airport can accommodate up to 8.1 million passengers every year,” he said. According to him, the airport will have 53 aprons, where aircrafts can be parked, including the Airbus A380. The airport will serve the city of Medan, Sumatra.
Meanwhile, North Sumatra’s acting governor, Gatot Pujo Nugroho, said the
construction of the Kuala Namu Airport is almost completed. It will be
operational in March 2013.
According to Nugroho, the construction of a two-lane arterial road leading
to the airport has been completed. The provincial administration has also started constructing a toll road that will connect the airport to the provincial town of Binjai.
“A ground-breaking ceremony was held on Nov 13 to mark the construction of
the toll road,” said Nugroho. Wisnu Budi Setianto, public relations officer of PT Angkasa Pura II, an airport management company, said the construction of the airport should have been completed before December 2012. However, due to some unforeseen circumstances, the airport will be operational by March 2013.
“Besides, the airport operator will apply an `open island check-in` concept,
as seen at the Singapore Changi Airport,” said Setianto, adding that the Kuala
Namu Airport will replace the Polonia Airport in Medan.
Indonesia’s Transportation Minister, EE Mangindaan, said there is a
possibility that the Polonia Airport will be closed once the new Kuala Namu
aerodrome becomes operational.
International tourism in the province will increase once the airport becomes
operational. In addition, the airport will boost the region’s economic growth,
he added.
— BERNAMA
