The airport is the main hub for the increasingly popular coastal areas of Labuan Bajo, which is included in the government’s 10 “New Bali” destinations, an effort to ramp up foreign tourist visitors to the archipelago.

Wisnu Wijaya Soedibjo, acting deputy for investment at the Coordinating Investment Board (BKPM), said the government was offering a 25-year concession contract worth Rp 1.17 trillion (US$78.5 million) and an additional Rp 1.83 trillion for operational expenditure.

“The PPP will not only help solve the government’s budget limitations, but will also allow private firms with more experience and expertise to manage infrastructure projects more efficiently,” he said during Komodo Airport’s market sounding seminar in Jakarta on Tuesday.

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo inaugurated the airport, previously named Mutiara II Airport, in December 2015. To date, it only serves domestic routes because of a lack of infrastructure.

The PPP funding, said Wisnu, would be used to extend the airport’s runway by 200 meters to 2.4 kilometers in order to accommodate larger jets serving international flights.

Other supporting infrastructure would also be built under the partnership, such as an international-class terminal, expanded apron as well as cargo and catering facilities.

With the PPP scheme, Komodo Airport is expected to gain international status, especially with Labuan Bajo attracting hundreds of thousands of foreign tourists every year, he said.

The PPP scheme for Komodo Airport will also be listed under the National Development Planning Ministry’s (Bappenas) PPP program, which aims to raise $131.1 billion in infrastructure financing from private parties, or 36.5 percent of the $359.2 billion needed, from 2015 to 2019.

Transportation Ministry airport director Polana B. Pramesti confirmed that Komodo Airport was under the ministry’s direct management.

“The winner of this [PPP] tender will be able to form a consortium with any company, including state-owned enterprises, to manage the concession until 2044,” Polana said on the same occasion.

“We expect to sign the agreement in January 2019 so that the investor could immediately start developing Komodo Airport’s infrastructure and run the concession by 2020.”

When the concession starts, the airport is estimated to serve 1 million passengers annually. By the time it ends, she said, the number was expected to climb to 4 million, with more potential international flights from Australia, Malaysia and Singapore.

Komodo Airport is one of six PPP pilot projects the Transportation Ministry is handling this year. The ministry has also prepared Juwata International Airport in Tarakan, North Kalimantan; Singkawang Airport, West Kalimantan; Pare Pare-Makassar railway, South Sumatra; and two transit-oriented development (TOD) projects in Bekasi, West Java and Poris Plawad, Banten.

To gain investors’ trust, a guarantee is offered for the project through government-backed financing guarantee agency Penjaminan Infrastruktur Indonesia (PII), which is under the Finance Ministry’s supervision.

PII president director Armand Hermawan said the airport should easily attract investors because it did not face obstacles that often hindered the construction of a project, such as land acquisition issues.

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