Changi Airport International, operator of the world’s premier Changi Airport in Singapore, has won a 25-year concession to operate Komodo Airport in Labuan Bajo, the important gateway to the world-famous Komodo Dragon National Park in East Nusa Tenggara.
The Ministry of Transport announced on Thursday that the Changi consortium, which incorporates Jakarta-listed airport services company Cardig Aero Services and Changi subsidiary Changi Airports Mena, will invest 1.2 trillion Indian rupiah ($86 million) to expand the runway , aprons and international terminals of the airport and one other P5.7 trillion for its operation. After the license expires, the operator will hand over the management of the airport to the federal government, Jakarta Globe reported.
The consortium will invest 1.2 trillion rupiah (S$116 million) over five years to expand the airport, including extending the runway to accommodate larger planes that may fly direct from countries akin to China, Japan and India, and increasing its capability by greater than six-fold to handle 4 million passengers, Transport Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said at a press conference, quoted by Times of the Strait.
“This is the beginning for us to offer to other (airports),” Sumadi said. “I am asking for your support so that we can reduce our dependence on the budget and continue to build infrastructure across the country,” he said.
The airport expansion was a part of efforts to support Labuan Bajo as considered one of Indonesia’s priority tourism development destinations, aiming to create 10 “New Balis”.
Coordinating Minister for Investment and Maritime Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said the federal government has ambitious plans for Labuan Bajo within the medium term.
“We hope that [Labuan Bajo] could host the APEC or G20 meeting,” Luhut said, referring to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and the group of the world’s 20 largest economies, which incorporates Indonesia. The country plans to submit a proposal to host the APEC meeting in 2024 and the G20 meeting a 12 months earlier.
The project also ensured the successful implementation of the public-private partnership (PPP) program at each airport, which the federal government has promoted over the previous couple of years for infrastructure development within the country. Komodo was the primary airport within the country to be built under such a program.
The government plans to supply foreign investors the event of Singkawang Airport in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, and Sam Ratulangi Airport in Manado, North Sulawesi, under a PPP program next 12 months.
