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Ngurah Rai airport to be expanded
Ni Komang Erviani , Contributor , Badung | Tue, 09/09/2008 10:22 AM | Bali
State-owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura I will expand both the domestic and international terminals of Denpasar's Ngurah Rai International Airport to turn it into one of the best tourism airports in the world, an official said Monday.
"Expansion work will be carried out on both the domestic and international terminals, but not on the airport's runway," said Heru Legowo, head of PT Angkasa Pura I's Bali office.
Under the expansion project, the total area of the domestic and international terminals will be increased from the current 83,000 square meters to about 200,000 square meters, with 130,000 square meters for the international terminal and 70,000 for the domestic terminal.
At present, the international terminal measures 70,000 square meters, while the domestic terminal measures 13,000 square meters.
Heru added the project was expected to also increase the airport's passenger handling capacity from the current 10 million per year to 16 million.
The project is estimated to cost up to Rp 1 trillion (US$110.10 million). The existing domestic terminal will be altered into the international terminal, while the international terminal will become the domestic one, he said.
"The project plan was proposed to the office of the State Minister for State Enterprises... We are awaiting its approval," he said.
"It's not easy to attain the status of one of the best tourism airports in the world. We have to work hard, and this expansion project is one of our approaches to realizing it," Heru added, saying the project would be completed within three years.
"We hope to have an airport with more spacious terminals by 2011," he said.
He added the project would focus on the relocation of several official houses owned by PT Angkasa Pura I, located in the northern part of the airport.
The airport terminal expansion plan was warmly hailed by Ngurah Wijaya, head of the Bali Tourism Board, who said existing facilities were inadequate for tourists.
The mushrooming of retail outlets in the narrow terminal has given visitors a bad first impression, he said, adding that they made the existing terminals "look more like a mall than an airport".
"We need a more spacious and comfortable airport with many more seats," he said.
Wijaya said the project was very important to guarantee convenience, badly needed by the airport as the island's main gateway.
"The first impression most tourists get, whether good or bad, is from the airport," he said.
"If their first impression is bad, the tourists will not feel comfortable for the rest of their stay in Bali."
Frank van Paasschen (not verified) — Tue, 09/09/2008 - 8:08pm
I wish that Messrs. Heru Legowo and Ngurah Wijaya as well as PT Angkasa Pura I would demonstrate the same sense of urgency and commitment for the expansion of the domestic and international terminals of Denpasar's Ngurah Rai International Airport as for the safety of their passengers and customer airlines.
At Ngurah Rai International Airport nor at an any of the other airports in Indonesia, Safety Management Systems have been implemented yet.
The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has mandated the implementation of a Safety Management System at (certified) airports world-wide since November 2005.
Moreover, at the Strategic Aviation Safety Summit on 2 July 2007 in Denpasar, ICAO and the lndonesian government signed a “groundbreaking” declaration whereby Indonesia committed itself to prompt and wide-ranging action for improving the safety of its civil aviation system including the implementation of safety management systems at its airports and air navigation services’ providers.
A safety management system is a basic business requirement for airports, airlines and air navigation services and is based on the premise that there will always be safety hazards and human errors. A safety management system establishes processes to improve communication about these risks and take action to minimize them. This approach will subsequently improve an organisation’s overall level of safety.
A safe and efficient civil aviation system is an essential element of sustainable economic and social development and, in the visit Indonesia year 2008, it is very sad indeed to witness the ongoing meltdown of the civil aviation system in Indonesia.
The good news is that implementation of safety management systems at airports and airlines in Indonesia would not require the approval of the office of the Minister for State Enterprises and would not cost Rp 1 trillion.
It would however require the political will.
The author is aviation safety professional and lives in Manado.