Deli Serdang airport set for 2012

The central government renewed its promise to complete construction of the long-awaited Kuala Namu International Airport in Deli Serdang, North Sumatra, by 2012 — despite ongoing construction and land clearance problems.

Transportation Minister Freddy Numberi made the promise when visiting the airport, which will replace Polonia International Airport in the provincial capital Medan, adding that construction has shown significant progress.

“Construction of the airport terminal will be complete this year along with the runway,” he said at a press conference Saturday.

Airport construction had been previously delayed by a technical mistake when evaluating the ground used to build the runway, he said.

The government has warned the contractor building the runway to finish the job on schedule, he added.

“Under the plan, runway construction will finish in October 2012. This way the airport will be ready for operation,” Freddy said.

North Sumatra residents should not worry about the central government’s commitment to complete Kuala Namu International Airport, he said.

Another construction problem was land clearance to build an airport access road, he said.

“Thirty-five families have yet to be relocated,” Freddy said, adding that land clearance issues would be taken care of by the provincial administration

Despite those problems, Freddy said he was optimistic that the airport would be completed on schedule.

The new airport will cover 1,035 hectares and is designed to accommodate eight million passengers per year.

It features a 3,750-meter runway and 33 aircraft parking bays for jets such as the Airbus 380.

The Kuala Namu International Airport is a joint project of airport management company PT Angkasa Pura, which invested Rp 1.8 trillion (US$199.8 million) in the construction, and the central government, which contributed Rp 4.2 trillion.

Freddy said that the central government had allocated Rp 2 trillion for the project in 2010, adding that the technical error had raised its contribution to Rp 3.3 trillion this year.

Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa said that the Kuala Namu International Airport was a high-priority national program, adding that the government was committed to accelerating its construction.

“The government has committed to finish Kuala Namu construction in 2012.

“There should be no doubt about this commitment since it’s the reason six ministers came down here to personally observe construction,” Hatta told reporters in Medan.