The track to the airport would be 6 kilometers long."Kulon Progo (ANTARA News) - The Yogyakarta branch of the Indonesian state-owed railway company PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) said it would start building the rail track to the location where a new airport would be built in the sub-district of Temon after the state-owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura I (AP I) finished the process of land clearing for the track.
"In principle we are ready . We are waiting only for the trace to be ready," head of the Yogyakarta KAI Hendy Helmy said here.
Hendy said PT KAI will follow the agenda of Angkasa Pura I, which is the one responsible for the land procurement.
"Our job is only to build the infrastructure and the railway. Building an airport will take one to two years, but we need only six months to build the railway," he said.
However, project manager for the construction of New Yogyakarta International Airport (NYIA) of PT Angkasa Pura I Sujiastono said PT KAI is responsible for the land procurement for the track.
"PT Angkasa Pura I is responsible only for building a railway station within the passenger terminal in the airport. It would be difficult to divide the assets if AP 1 was to procure the land to be used by PT KAI," Sujiastono pointed out.
Hendy said in the first phase KAI would build a track between the Kedungan station to the airport, New Yogyakarta International Airport (NYIA), to be followed with second phase for track to the Wojo station in Purworejo.
"The track to the airport would be 6 kilometers long. We propose to use electric train, which is more efficient and its maintenance is easier," he said.
Sujiastono said AP I is ready to find other alternative for transport to the airport if PT KAI is not yet ready when the airport has been operational.
"The option could be shuttle buses. This method would be used while waiting for KAI to finish its job, though we acknowledge railway is the most efficient," he said.
President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) broke the ground to mark the start of the construction of the airport in January.
Earlier, Angkasa Pura I said it would need over Rp9 trillion (US$673 million) for the development of infrastructure and the acquisition of land for the airport.
The company hopes to complete the development of the new airport by 2020 saying the new airport will be connected to the city center via a toll road and railway.
The airport is expected to accommodate 50 million passengers annually. It will replace Adisutjipto International Airport, which serves 3.5 million passengers a year.
The old airport, which is considered no longer safe already exceeds its annual capacity of 1.5 million passengers.
(Uu.H-ASG/F001)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
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