Govt chooses Karawang as location for new airport

The government has chosen Karawang, West Java, as the location for a new airport, an official from the Transportation Ministry has announced.

“At the moment we are still studying it. By early next year we will know how much money will be needed. But the location has been chosen, which is Karawang,” ministry director general for air transportation Herry Bhakti said on Sunday as quoted by tribunnews.com.

He said that the government planned to build a new airport in response to complaints about services at Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Cengkareng due to overcapacity.

“Soekarno-Hatta Airport there are two runways, the Karawang airport will provide a third runway,” he said.

Herry was unsure when construction of the new airport would begin, but said that the need for a new airport would become urgent by 2015.