Indonesia's Minister of Transportation, Budi Karya Sumadi, said that foreign investors might be interested in developing three airports. (Image via Detik Finance)

Indonesian government invites private enterprises to develop 3 airports

Indonesia’s Minister of Transportation, Budi Karya Sumadi, stated that the government invited private enterprises to join in developing three airports through government-to-business cooperation (KPBU) scheme. Speaking on Thursday, Budi was certain that not only domestic investors but also foreign investors will be attracted to invest in the three airports.

The three airports are Kualanamu International Airport (Medan), Sam Ratulangi International Airport (Manado), and Singkawang Airport (West Kalimantan).

The Transporation Minister laid his belief in the commercial aspect of these three airports. Kualanamu International Airport houses 10 million passengers annually, and Sam Ratulangi International Airport with 4 million passengers.

Meanwhile, Singkawang Airport is under further study and aims to be constructed by 2021 or 2022.

The Indonesian government recently announced the tender winner for the development of Komodo Airport in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara. Interestingly, the winner is a consortium of domestic and foreign companies, namely PT Cardig Aero Service Tbk (CAS), Changi Airports International Pte Ltd (CAI), dan Changi Airports MENA Pte Ltd.

Komodo Airport is the first KPBU-based project that involved foreign investors. Cardig and Changi consortium will roll out an Rp1.2 trillion investment in no later than five years. The fund will be used to purchase materials needed for the development.

Next, the consortium will also be required to provide Rp5.7 trillion for operational purchasing in 25 years. After the end of 25 years concession, the management of Komodo Airport will be handed back to the Indonesian government.

Budi pointed out that foreign investors were attracted to the tender judging the capacity of Komodo Airport at only around 500,000 passengers annually. Therefore, it shouldn’t be difficult for these three airports to attract foreign investors, said the Transportation Minister.

Soon, the tender for Kualanamu International Airport development will enter the pre-qualification stage, while Sam Ratulangi International Airport just entered the project clarification stage. Budi is confident that the potential investments for the three airports will exceed Komodo Airport.

Source: https://bit.ly/377iqWu