Firm earmarks $655m to expand five airports

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 08/26/2011

State airport operator PT Angkasa Pura I (AP I) has allocated Rp 5.6 trillion (US$655.2 million) to expand five airports in Bali, East Kalimantan, East Java, Yogyakarta and South Kalimantan, the company’s spokesman said.

Company public relations manager, Merpin Butarbutar, said in Jakarta on Thursday that AP I would upgrade the five exports into world-class airports, with “airport city” concepts, equipped with hotels and shopping centers, by 2013.

“Almost all airports operated by AP I are currently over capacity. AP I will prioritize the expansion of passenger and logistic terminals to enhance our services as well as revenues,” Merpin said.

The five airports include the Ngurah Rai airport in Denpasar, Bali; Sepinggan International Airport in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan; Juanda International Airport in East Java and Adisutjipto International Airport in Yogyakarta.

In addition to the five airports, the company also operates another eight airports, most of which are located in eastern areas of Indonesia.

The total number of passengers at the 13 airports rose by an average of 11 percent, from 41 million in 2009 to 49 million in 2010, Merpin said.

He pointed out the Ngurah Rai airport in Bali served more than 11 million passengers in 2010, a figure far higher than the 7.5 million passengers the airport could ideally handle.

Ngurah Rai International Airport, which contributes the most to AP I’s revenues, is currently undergoing renovations to upgrade its capacity to be able to handle 25 million passengers a year, while expansion projects for the remaining four airports are expected to begin soon.

According to an earlier report, under the planned expansion, AP I will exchange the domestic and international terminals at Ngurah Rai airport in order to cope with an increase in international passengers.

The new international terminal will be expanded to cover an area of 120,000 square meters.

The company also plans to build a 39,000-square-meter, three-story car park, which will have room to accommodate up to 1,500 vehicles.

The Ngurah Rai airport expansion will use Rp 1.94 trillion of the total budget — the highest amount among the five airports — while the expansion of Sepinggan airport in Balikpapan will require Rp 1.56 trillion.

The company will use internal funds and bank loans to finance the projects, Merpin added.

As part of its expansion plans, he continued, AP I has established subsidiaries in four sectors: hotels, property, logistics and services, with a total investment of Rp 100 billion, to boost its non-aeronautical revenue.

“We expect the establishment of the new subsidiaries to boost the contribution of our ‘non-aero’ businesses to our total revenue to 60 percent by 2020, from 22 percent in 2010,” he said. AP I also recently launched its new logo in Bali, hoping to refresh its company’s image.

The new logo, worth more than Rp 200 million, depicts two hands of two different colors — green and blue — shaking each other, which “symbolize humane service, as well as safety and security, two key elements in the airport business,” Merpin said. (swd)