Ngurah Rai Airport's runway to be overlaid

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The runway of Bali`s Ngurah Rai International Airport will be overlaid with a 5-7 centimeter-thick cement layer to maintain services, an official of state airport management company PT Angkasa Pura I said on Thursday.

"The project will be started in the middle of this month with funds totalling Rp30 billion," PT Angkasa Pura I director Bambang Darwoto said.

He said the project was routine in nature and implemented once every four years as part of efforts to maintain the quality of the airport`s services.

The funds, he added, would come from the company`s budget.

Ngurah Rai Airport`s runway is 3,000 meters long and 45 meters wide.

Angkasa Pura I company is currently managing 13 commercial airports across Indonesia, mainly in the eastern parts of the country.

Among the airports are Selaparang in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, Juanda in Surabaya, East Java, Pattimura in Ambon, Sepinggan in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan and Ahmad Yani in Semarang, Central Java.

The others are Hasanuddin in Makassar, South Sulawesi, Adisutjipto in Yogyakarta, Sam Ratulangi in Manado, North Sulawesi, Syamsuddin Noor in Banjarmasin, East Kalimantan, Adisumarmo in Surakarta, Central Java, El Tari im Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara and Frans Kaisiepo in Biak.

In 2005, the company booked a net profit of Rp395.2 billion or 30 percent more than in the previous year when the figure was only Rp286.5 billion. The company has set the target to gain a profit of some Rp434 billion before tax in 2006.