Angkasa Pura plans to invest $72 million

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Thu, 03/02/2006 7:20 AM | Business

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

As part of a program to modernize the country's airports, state-owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura I is currently upgrading runway and passenger facilities at Hasanuddin Airport in Makassar, the main gateway to central and eastern Indonesia.

Bambang Darwoto, a director of Angkasa Pura I, which operates airports in Yogyakarta, Surabaya and other cities in central and eastern Indonesia, said in Jakarta on Wednesday the company would spend about Rp 490.5 billion this year on the expansion of the airport.

The money would account for about 70 percent of the Rp 688 billion (about US$722 million) the company plans to invest this year. In 2004, the company invested Rp 34 billion, and Rp 82.8 billion in 2005.

""We're still in the first stage of construction,"" he said during a hearing with the House of Representatives' finance commission Tuesday, adding that the first stage included the expansion of the passenger terminal, apron and taxiway. ""We hope the construction of the first stage will be completed by April next year,"" he said.

Bambang revealed that the cost of the first stage of the Hasanuddin Airport upgrade could reach Rp 534 billion.

Angkasa Pura, he said, planned to resort to the bond market to raise additional funds to finance the Makassar development. He did not set a value on the planned issue.

He said the company also planned to build a new airport in central Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, this year to replace Selaparang Airport, which could not be expanded because of its proximity to Mt. Rindjani.

""We will need about Rp 755 billion for its construction,"" he said, adding that the company had finalized the preconstruction preparations and would launch an international tender for the work in the near future.

In 2004, the state company booked a profit of Rp 371 billion, 165 percent higher than the previous year, while last year the company's profit rose by 14 percent to Rp 425 billion.

""We expect that our revenue this year will come in at Rp 1.5 trillion, and operating costs at Rp 1.1 trillion. This means we could well see a profit of Rp 434 billion,"" he said.

The total value of the company's assets last year stood at Rp 4.8 trillion, while it had debts of Rp 2.4 trillion and equity of Rp 2.3 trillion. (01)

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