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New airport opens in C. Kalimantan to support connectivity, food estate
The airport has replaced Beringin Airport, which was closed in September 2020 because it was hemmed in by developed land on all sides, preventing its expansion.
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Vice President Ma'ruf Amin gives a speech during the inauguration of Haji Muhammad Sidik Airport in Central Kalimantan on Tuesday. (Transportation Ministry/-)
T
he government has opened Haji Muhammad Sidik Airport in North Barito regency, Central Kalimantan, to support regional trade and travel, as well as the national food estate program.
Vice President Ma’ruf Amin inaugurated the Rp 380 billion (US$26 million) airport on Tuesday. It is able to serve 55,000 passengers annually and is located about 15 kilometers away from the regency’s capital of Muara Teweh, a riverside town.
He said the new airport would support the movement of goods such as coal, gold and palm oil, would increase tourism and would improve domestic connectivity, particularly in relation to the food estate program, part of the 2020-2024 National Strategic Projects list.
“I hope that cooperation with airlines and cargo services can be well established so that quality products from North Barito regency can be distributed to various regions,” he said in a press statement.
Muhammad Sidik Airport is the fourth remote airport inaugurated since mid-March, after Kuabang Airport in North Maluku, Toraja Airport in South Sulawesi and Pantar Airport in East Nusa Tenggara. The government is seeking to catch up on its infrastructure plans after many projects were held back by last year’s COVID-19 restrictions.
Read also: New Tana Toraja, Pantar airports launched to boost travel in eastern Indonesia
Central Kalimantan and North Sumatra are the main locations for the Jokowi administration’s food estate program, which is meant to bolster the nation’s food security.
