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resident Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has expressed his support for the expansion of Ahmad Yani International Airport in Semarang, Central Java, following the rejection of the plan by State-Owned Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan.

The President'€™s support was conveyed during his attendance at the groundbreaking ceremony for PT Indonesia Power'€™s gas pipeline in Semarang on Friday, in a response to a request by Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo.

'€œMr. President, the airport in Semarang is not only ugly, it is embarrassing,'€ Ganjar said as he asked the President to help accelerate the expansion plan that had earlier been rejected by Dahlan.

The rejection was conveyed in a letter on Tuesday regarding cooperation with the Defense Ministry with regard to using ministry land to expand the airport.

In the letter, Dahlan expressed his disagreement, saying that the project was not feasible and that it could be a burden on the airport company'€™s finances.

Responding to Ganjar'€™s request, Yudhoyono said that he would '€œconvey this to the minister to accelerate and ease the project'€.

The pros and cons of the plan to expand Ahmad Yani airport have long been debated.

Semarang Mayor Hendrar Prihadi said that the expansion would significantly increase visits to the city, adding that cancellation would stifle development in the city.

Apart from anything else tens of billions of rupiah have already been spent on developing supporting facilities including the access road to the airport.

'€œWhat will we do with this? The potential losses are huge,'€ Hendrar said.

On the other hand, urban observer M. Farchan backed Dahlan'€™s decision, saying that the cancellation was for the sake of Semarang'€™s future, as continuing the plan would only hinder the development of high-rise buildings in the provincial capital.

'€œThis is a smart decision taken by Dahlan Iskan, who sees that Semarang has a strategic position at a national level so Semarang can grow fast as a metropolitan city,'€ said Farchan, who is also a former official at the Semarang Development Planning Board (Bappeda).

'€œThe provincial administration should follow up the cancellation by looking for a new site for a commercial airport,'€ he said, adding that Demak or Kendal regencies could be the right locations to develop a new airport in Central Java.

Separately, transportation observer Joko Setidjowarno of Soegijapranata Catholic University in Semarang expressed similar thoughts, saying that Semarang and the surrounding area were not ideal to develop an airport.

The best site, he said, was Adi Soemarmo International Airport in Surakarta. '€œPeople in Semarang can now access Adi Soemarmo in just an hour,'€ he said.

Ahmad Yani airport has the capacity to accommodate only 800,000 passengers annually, but it currently handles up to 2 million passengers every year.

With the planned expansion, the airport was expected to be able to accommodate up to 4 million passengers.