T

he North Sumatra administration has decided to name its new airport Kuala Namu International Airport, replacing Polonia International Airport, which has been operating beyond its capacity.

Fadly Nurzal, a lawmaker of the North Sumatra Legislative Council, said on Tuesday that the central government had called on the administration to decide the name of the new airport by end of December.

“After a series of discussions, we have come up with one name and proposed Kuala Namu International Airport, replacing Polonia,” said Fadly, who was also the head of a special committee on the naming of the new airport.

“We chose Kuala Namu simply because it is situated in Kuala Namu,” said Fadly.

Kuala Namu was one of five names proposed by public, the others being Sisingamangaraja, Sultan Serdang, Tengku Amir Hamzah and Jenderal Abdul Haris Nasution, all of which are North Sumatran heroes.

Wisnu Budi Setyanto, the head of the law, general affairs and public relations division at the state-owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura II Kuala Namu, said the company was progressing construction of the runway and terminal building while also providing navigation systems.

Wisnu expressed optimism that his company would be able to finish the project, which is worth Rp 5.4 trillion (US$560 million), on schedule.

The central government has provided a budget of Rp 3.4 trillion, while PT Angkasa Pura II has disbursed Rp 2 trillion for the new airport.

“We will try to speed up the construction process to meet the target. We hope that the new airport will start operating in March 2013,” said Wisnu.

Kuala Namu International Airport is located some 3.5 kilometers of Labu beach in Deli Serdang regency, around 40 kilometers from Medan.

The airport is built on 1,365-hectares of land and is expected to accommodate around 8 million passengers per year.

The runway will be 3,750 meters by 60 meters and will accommodate Airbus A380 aircraft. The airport is also equipped with aircraft parking facilities, accommodating up to 33 aircraft.

PT Angkasa Pura II is cooperating with state-owned train operator PT KAI to procure an airport train to transport passengers to and from Kuala Namu to a Medan station on Jl. Pulo Pinang.

PT KAI has finished the railway’s construction and has tested the train several times. The train, consisting of four cars, will operate daily from 4 a.m. to 10 p.m.

The administration also plans to build a new toll road linking Kuala Namu and Medan, but the project has been hampered by a land acquisition issue.

Currently, it takes around one hour to drive from Kuala Namu to Medan (or vice versa)