JAKARTA: State-owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura II (AP II) said it had secured a loan of Rp 1.5 trillion (US$115 million) from the Indonesian Export Financing Agency (LPEI) to finance airport development projects.
The agreement was signed on Wednesday by AP II president director Budi Karya Sumadi and Ngalim Sawega, executive of the financing agency, also known as Indonesia Eximbank.
“The agreement with Indonesia Eximbank is aimed at supporting our airports’ development projects in order to keep pace with the growth of the country’s airline industry, which is quite significant. We really appreciate the support from Indonesia Eximbank,” Budi said.
AP II, which manages 13 airports in the western part of the country, is currently in the process of conducting an expansion project of its third terminal, which has a capacity of 25 million passengers annually, at the country’s busiest airport, Soekarno-Hatta.
Following the completion of the third terminal, the company will upgrade the first and second terminals such that each terminal can accommodate 18 million passengers every year.
The airport is only designed to accommodate 22 million passengers annually, yet it catered to around 62 million passengers in 2013.
Soekarno-Hatta International Airport is the 10th busiest airport in the world in terms of passenger traffic, according to the 2013 Airports Council International (ACI) world airport traffic report.
The report also named Soekarno-Hatta the busiest airport in Southeast Asia and the fourth busiest in Asia after airports in Beijing, Tokyo and Dubai.
According to Budi, the company was also planning on beginning a construction project that would increase the runway capacity of Soekarno-Hatta from the current 72 flights per hour to 86 flights per hour.
In addition, the company is currently developing a train station and an integrated building consisting of commercial areas, parking areas, offices and hotels, all located near the airport.
The company needs a total of Rp 26 trillion between 2007 and 2020 to develop the country’s busiest airport.
The firm plans, over the course of two years, to raise Rp 6 trillion from the bond market to help finance its projects. Bonds worth a total of Rp 2 trillion will be issued either in September or October this year, according to Budi.
AP II also plans to develop Kualanamu into an “aerotropolis” by integrating the airport with Belawan Port, Kuala Tanjung Port and Batubara regency, in a bid to spur the province’s economic growth.
AP II, along with state-owned Angkasa Pura I, was previously criticized by Transportation Minister Ignasius Jonan for failing to comply with the standards set by the government.
“Around 70 percent of our development projects are centered on Soekarno Hatta. Development not only focuses on physical structures but also on the quality of service that we plan to offer,” Budi said.
