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Changi Operator Wins Airport Management Concession of Indonesia’s Komodo Airport

Changi Operator Wins Airport Management Concession of Indonesia’s Komodo Airport

Changi Airport International, the operator of the world's best Changi Airport in Singapore, has won a 25-year concession to operate Komodo Airport in Labuan Bajo, the main gateway to the world-renowned Komodo dragon national park in East Nusa Tenggara.

The Transportation Ministry announced on Thursday that Changi's consortium, which includes Jakarta-listed airport service firm Cardig Aero Services and Changi's subsidiary Changi Airports Mena, will invest Rp 1.2 trillion ($86 million) to expand the airport's runway, aprons, and international terminals and another Rp 5.7 trillion for its operation. The operator will hand back the airport management to the government at the end of the concession, Jakarta Globe reported. 

Padar island, Indonesia. Beautiful panorama view of the island with mountain and beach in sunrise. Image: Travelingyuk.com/Shutterstock
Padar island, Indonesia. Beautiful panorama view of the island with mountain and beach in sunrise. Image: Travelingyuk.com/Shutterstock

 

The consortium will invest 1.2 trillion rupiah (S$116 million) over five years to expand the airport, including lengthening the runway to accommodate bigger planes likely to fly directly from countries such as China, Japan and India, and increasing its capacity by more than six-fold to handle 4 million passengers, Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi told a news conference, as quoted by The Straits Times.

"This is a start for us to offer other (airports)," Mr Sumadi said. "I'm asking for your support so we can reduce our dependence on the budget and continue to build infrastructure across the country," he said.

The airport development was part of its effort to support Labuan Bajo as one of Indonesia's priority tourism development to make 10 'New Balis'.

The coordinating Minister for Investment and Maritime Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said the government has lofty ambition for Labuan Bajo in the medium term.

Hello from the Dragon. The Komodo dragon, Varanus komodoensis, on island Rinca. Is the biggest living lizard in the world, Indonesia. Image: Travelingyuk.com/Shutterstock
Hello from the Dragon. The Komodo dragon, Varanus komodoensis, on island Rinca. Is the biggest living lizard in the world, Indonesia. Image: Travelingyuk.com/Shutterstock

 

"We hope that [Labuan Bajo] can host APEC or G20 meeting," Luhut said, referring to the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation and the group of 20 world's largest economies that Indonesia is part of. The country plans to submit a proposal for hosting the APEC meeting in 2024 and the G20 meeting a year earlier. 

The project also marked a successful public-private partnership (PPP) scheme in any airport that the government has been promoting in the past few years for developing infrastructure in the country. Komodo was the first airport in the country to be developed under such a scheme.

The government plans to offer next year the development of Singkawang Airport in Pontianak, West Kalimantan and Sam Ratulangi Airport in Manado, North Sulawesi to foreign investors, using PPP scheme. 

 

Indah Gilang Pusparani

Indah is a researcher at Badan Perencanaan Pembangunan Penelitian dan Pengembangan Daerah Kota Cirebon (Regional Development Planning and Research Agency of Cirebon Municipality). She covers More international relations, tourism, and startups in Southeast Asia region and beyond. Indah graduated from MSc Development Administration and Planning from University College London, United Kingdom in 2015. She finished bachelor degree from International Relations from University of Indonesia in 2014, with two exchange programs in Political Science at National University of Singapore and New Media in Journalism at Ball State University, USA. She was awarded Diplomacy Award at Harvard World Model United Nations and named as Indonesian Gifted Researcher by Australian National University. She is Researcher at Regional Planning Board in Cirebon, West Java. She previously worked as Editor in Bening Communication, the Commonwealth Parliament Association UK, and diplomacy consulting firm Best Delegate LLC in USA. Less
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