JAKARTA: The Transportation Ministry has allocated a total of Rp 1 trillion (US$79.9 million) from the state budget since 2005 to develop the 20 non-commercial seaports, including Kalatoa in South Sulawesi, Malenge in Central Sulawesi, Paniti in North Maluku, Melano in West Kalimantan, Karimun Jawa in Central Java and Pokai in West Sumatra, according to the Transportation Ministry’s dredging project and port operation director Adolf Tambunan.
The 10 airport facilities launched by Jonan include new terminals at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar, Bali and Mutiara Sis Al-Jufri Airport in Palu, Central Sulawesi.
The total investment required to build the new domestic terminal at Ngurah Rai airport, which was fully funded by state-owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura I, amounted to Rp 2.8 trillion. The terminal began operations in September.
Meanwhile, the construction of the new terminal at Mutiara Sis Al- Jufri, which cost Rp 180 billion, was fully funded by the state budget. The terminal started operations in April.
The remaining eight new airports launched by the minister are all non-commercial airports, namely Enggano in Bengkulu, Bone in South Sulawesi, Tanjung Api in Central Sulawesi, Karel Sadsuitubun and Jos Orno Imsula in Maluku, Waghete and Stevanus Rumbewas in Papua and Matahora in Central Sulawesi.
The airports will serve pioneering routes and can only accommodate small aircraft such as the ATR 72 600 and C-22/Grand Caravan.
Over the next five years, the new administration is planning to develop 24 commercial seaports with a total investment reaching Rp 700 trillion, as part of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s maritime highway initiative, which will see new maritime routes connecting the country’s east and west with scheduled traffic that is charged at a fixed rate.
The airports that will have longer runways are Rembele Airport in Aceh, Blimbingsari in East Java, Komodo Airport in East Nusa Tenggara, Tojo Una-Una Airport in Central Sulawesi, Kuabang Kao Airport in North Maluku, Ibra Airport in Maluku, New Saumlaki Airport in Maluku and Dekai Airport in Papua.
The increased connectivity is also expected to reduce Indonesia’s high logistics costs and in turn make domestic products more affordable and competitive. At 23.6 percent of GDP, Indonesia’s logistics costs are among the highest in the region and among the nation’s trading partners, which include Malaysia at 15 percent, Japan (10.6 percent), South Korea (16.3 percent) and the US (9.9 percent), according to government data.
