"We have announced to the world that the new Kertajati International Airport will serve flights from around the world," Air Transportation Director General Agus Santoso remarked after attending a coordination meeting at the Ministry of Maritime Affairs here on Friday.
Santoso explained that according to the initial plan, Kertajati Airport will be used as an embarkation point for West Java`s Hajj pilgrims in July 2018.
"Hence, Coordinating Minister of Maritime Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan has coordinated on some related matters with the Ministry of Transportation and the Ministry of Religious Affairs," Santoso remarked.
Santosa explained that with regard to handling flights, the airport is 100 percent ready, including the runway, taxiway, apron, monitoring tower, and passenger air bridge.
In the meantime, West Java Governor Ahmad Heryawan, better known as Aher, expressed optimism that the Kertajati International Airport would become operational as scheduled in April 2018.
He revealed that the progress in work of the Kertajati Airport project was not hindered and delayed.
"So far, no hindrance was encountered in the construction process," the governor stated, adding that the first phase of the airport`s construction will cost some Rp2.6 trillion.
Earlier, Kertajati Airport was planned to have only one runway, with a capacity to handle 5.6 million passengers per year, and was expected to serve as an alternative for the citizens of West Java and parts of Central Java.
In accordance with the master plan, the airport, built on an area of some 1.8 thousand hectares, will have two runways, with a length of 3.5 thousand meters and three thousand meters respectively, to accommodate wide-bodied Boeing 747 and Boeing 777 aircraft.
(O001/INE/o001)
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Reporter: SYSTEM
Editor: Aditia Maruli Radja
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