West Java gives the nod to land acquisition for new airport

Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung | Sat, 01/03/2009 10:31 AM 

The West Java administration will finally begin acquiring land this year for a proposed new international airport that could replace the flood-prone Soekarno-Hatta International Airport outside Jakarta. 

The provincial administration says it will start acquiring the necessary land this year, delayed since 2005, to make way for Kertajati International Airport in Majalengka regency, 75 kilometers from the provincial capital Bandung. 

The West Java legislature has approved initial funding of Rp 100 billion (US$9 million) from the 2009 budget to purchase around 530 hectares of land for the airport's runways. 

Iwan Dermawan Kunaefi, head of the West Java International Airport Construction and Management Agency, said the planned airport could in future overtake Soekarno-Hatta airport as the country's main international gateway. 

He added Kertajati airport would be able to accommodate 6 million passengers annually in the first 10 years of operation, targeting those from Bandung, the north of the province and western Central Java, including Brebes, Tegal and Cilacap. 

The airport, Iwan went on, would also be an effective cargo consignment facility, thanks to a planned "aerocity" that would include an industrial zone. 

He said acquiring the land was a prerequisite demanded by three potential investors, one of them from Malaysia, still considering putting money into the project. 

"The land acquisition has so far been a major stumbling block. Investors will waver unless it's settled," Iwan told The Jakarta Post in Bandung on Friday. 

A delay in the land acquisition and airport construction would mean missing the 2010 airport operation target, given that construction only commenced in 2008, he added. 

He said the Transportation Ministry had approved the airport blueprint through a ministerial decree that included regulations on flight safety and noise limits, following an environmental impact analysis issued in 2006. 

He added at least Rp 1.3 trillion was needed for the initial stage of construction, covering 1,800 hectares of the airport. 

The Kertajati Aerocity project will measure 4,300 hectares and will include shopping malls and an industrial zone. It will cost around Rp 8 trillion to build. 

It will be built using a "green" renewable energy concept. 

Denny Juanda, head of the West Java Development Planning Board (Bappeda), said the provincial administration had allocated additional funding of Rp 50 billion for land acquisition to construct supporting infrastructure and facilities, including the 32-kilometer Cileunyi-Sumedang-Dawuan turnpike.