Airport area expansion part of grand design

As part of a major project, next year state airport operator PT Angkasa Pura (AP) II will build new runways on the northern side of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Cengkareng, Tangerang.

“We will have to acquire at least 40 hectares of land in the near future for the grand design, which will include two new runways,” AP II corporate secretary Harry Cahyono told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

He said that AP II had long planned to expand the airport area 1,800 hectares to 2,500 hectares, but it had to be done in phases. As the number of travelers passing through the airport continues to increase, the airport management will prioritize the expansion of the airport’s capacity in the new design.

“We have allocated Rp 50 billion (US$5.51 million) from the company’s budget to acquire the 40-hectare plot,” he said

He added that the airport operator planned to improve passenger capacity by 2014.

The groundbreaking for the Rp 11.7 trillion airport expansion is expected to begin next year.

Harry said the roofs of the terminals would be inspired by traditional Toraja houses while the interior would feature Balinese paintings and decor.

The overall design includes optimization of runways 1 and 2, revitalization of Terminals 1 and 2, development of Terminal 3, the cargo terminal and other supporting facilities as well as an integrated building that will connect Terminals 1, 2 and 3.

Runways 1 and 2 will also be reconfigured by adding a taxiway and parking space for 174 aircraft as well as increasing aircraft movement from 52 to 62 per hour.

Runways 3 and 4 will be built on the northern side to further increase aircraft movement from 62 to 234 per hour.

The airport currently serves 44.3 million passengers a year, double its original design capacity of 22 million passengers. The expansion project aims to increase the capacity to 62 million passengers.