Governor Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo said the city administration would immediately widen all the roads leading to Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in East Jakarta and prepare other facilities to support the government'€™s reopening of the airport for several domestic flights.

'€œWe are collecting data on the infrastructure that needs to be improved at Halim,'€ he said as quoted by tribunnews.com. Jokowi said the Transportation Agency and the Public Works Agency would examine the area to formulate and fund solutions to any problems.

'€œThey will, for example, determine which road sections need to be expanded,'€ he said.

Jokowi, who complained about the central government'€™s policy on several occasions, admitted to having coordinated with certain ministries in anticipation of heavier traffic flows, '€œbut the airport'€™s reopening will ease the traffic jams on roads leading to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport'€.

'€œIt is better if short-distance flights are relocated to Halim,'€ he said.

Jokowi also said he had instructed the two agencies to coordinate with the Jakarta Police to enable smooth traffic flows to the airport.

Separately, the city police said that traffic management was needed to cope with the expected increase in the number of vehicles traveling to and from Halim airport following its reopening.

'€œA large number of private and public vehicles, including illegal taxi cabs, will be using the road to and from the airport, leading to possibly severe congestion,'€ said Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Rikwanto.

Even on normal days at present, the traffic in the area is quite heavy because there is only one road leading to the airport.

According to Rikwanto, traffic police officers would redirect the traffic to prevent congestion.

'€œHowever, we are still discussing the technical details of the traffic management plan,'€ Rikwanto said.

Meanwhile, Iwan Krishadiyanto, general manager of state-owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura II at Halim, said his company and the other parties involved in the discussion expected that the traffic management plan would be completed by Friday, the day when the airport would start serving its first domestic commercial flights.

Indonesia Transportation Society (MTI) researcher Izzul Waro said the traffic management system needed to be more than just the erection of additional traffic signs and the deployment of more traffic police.

'€œThe authorities must ensure that as many public transportation vehicles as possible have access to the airport,'€ he said.

He said the government, which is preparing railway services to Soe-karno-Hatta airport, should also consider developing railway facilities for Halim airport.

He also considered it important to widen the roads around the airport as they were already old and were designed for far fewer vehicles.

Izzul said the city Transportation Agency should also expand the number of Transjakarta buses to Halim.

According to him, providing better public transportation would encourage people to leave their vehicles at home when traveling to the airport.

Izzul said that before deciding what public transportation modes would be suitable for the airport, the authorities should draw up a profile of potential passengers.

'€œWe can determine the profile of potential passengers based on the airlines that will be operating at Halim; whether they are budget or premium travelers,'€ he said.

So far, only three airlines '€” national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, low-cost carrier Citilink Indonesia and continental budget airline Air Asia '€” have shown an interest in moving some of their domestic flights to Halim. (nai)

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