With an investment of Rp9.3 trillion, state-own airport operator Angkasa Pura I has set a target to complete the first phase of the construction by March 2019.
Kulon Progo, Yogyakarta (ANTARA News) - President Joko Jokowi Widodo has said the construction work for Yogyakartas new international airport in the Kulon Progo district would start soon.

The new airport is being built as the existing airport in Adisucipto is unable to handle the flow of passengers which is far more than the airport's capacity.

While the Adisucipto International Airport has a capacity to handle only 1.2 million people a year, it is currently accommodating 7.2 million passengers. The new airport is expected to serve as many as 15 million passengers per year.

"The new airport will be constructed on 587 hectares of land. The initial process of environmental impact assessment will be carried out soon," the president noted here on Friday.

With an investment of Rp9.3 trillion, state-own airport operator Angkasa Pura I has set a target to complete the first phase of the construction by March 2019.

In the second phase planned for 2020-2031, the airports terminal, initially built on an area of 130 thousand square meters, will be expanded to 195 thousand square meters to accommodate as many as 20 million passengers.

To ensure that the construction work is completed in time, President Jokowi urged Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi to intensively supervise the construction process because the project had already remained postponed for six to seven years.

"I do not care how it will be done, but the most important thing is that the airport should be operational by March 2019," he remarked.

Meanwhile, the residents of Kulon Progo, whose land will be used for the project, are strongly opposing the construction of the new airport.

Thousands of protesters were ready to hold large-scale demonstrations to stall the upcoming groundbreaking ceremony.

Some 75 community groups in Yogyakarta are opposing the construction, claiming that legal and environmental studies did not back the project.

The local people claim that the airport is being built in an area prone to geological disasters, and thus poses risks, especially to air passengers. Besides, it will displace thousands of farmers from their productive farmlands and disrupt their livelihood.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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