"We have received the green light from the transportation minister and have started discussing the construction of the airports," East Java Governor Soekarwo said here on Friday.
The airports need to be constructed urgently to boost the provinces economy, he said.
Soekarwo said the National Defense Forces (TNI) chief, General Gatot Nurmantyo, had also permitted the provincial government to use the land belonging to the Indonesian Navy to develop the Abdul Rahman Saleh airport in Malang.
"The land covers an area of 447 thousand hectares and 237 families will be removed from there. We have discussed it with the maritime corps command and will coordinate with the commander of eastern fleet command and the naval chief of staff," he said.
If the construction of the new airport, located about 60 kilometers from the old airport and close to the provinces southern road, is realized, it will be able to allow large-bodied planes to land and take off, he said.
As such, the operation of Abdul Rahman Saleh airport will be handed over to the Indonesian Navy for military purposes, he said.
Meanwhile, the construction of a new airport in Sumenep district will be the responsibility of the city government and the district administration, he said.
(S012/INE)
Reported by Fiqih Arfani
EDITED BY INE/H-YH
(T.S012/B/KR-BSR/B/H-YH)
Editor: Aditia Maruli Radja
Copyright © ANTARA 2016
