Rp 70 billion for Bandung airport expansion this year

Airport operator PT Angkasa Pura (AP) II has invested Rp 70 billion (US$7.77 million) to expand the Husein Sastranegara International Airport in Bandung, West Java this year.
AP II finance director Laurensius Manurung said the company plans to allocate a total investment of Rp 370 billion over a three-year program, concluding in 2014.
Laurensius said that the expansion has become a necessity amid soaring traffic at the airport, mainly from international arrivals.
“The growth of international passengers coming to Bandung is much higher than that of domestic passengers. Many tourists from Malaysia come to Bandung,” Laurensius said.
Bandung is popularly known as the “Paris of Java” for its role as a central hub of the country’s fashion industry.
Laurensius said traffic in the airport had reached 900,000 passengers per year, surpassing its capacity of 700,000 passengers per year.
The company plans to expand the airport’s capacity to 2 million passengers per year.
For the expansion project, the company will use a 6,000 square-meter plot of land currently being used by PT Dirgantara Indonesia for new airport space.
According to Laurensius, the land belongs to the Indonesian Air Force.
“We will discuss the land with PT Dirgantara Indonesia. The land should be returned first to the Air Force and then we can propose a cooperation plan for the use of the land for at least 50 years,” he said.
The expansion project will include the construction of parking and cargo areas.