T

he government appointed on Thursday the president director of city-owned property company PT Jakarta Propertindo (Jakpro), Budi Karya Sumadi, as the new president director of state-run airport operator PT Angkasa Pura II (AP II) as part of a management shake up in the country'€™s state-owned enterprises.

Budi is to replace Tri Sunoko, who took the position in 2010, in the hope of better service at the country'€™s airports in the western part of Indonesia, including the country'€™s main gateway, Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten.

'€œWe want to encourage AP II to be more innovative in improving its services, especially at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, which is overcapacity,'€ State-Owned Enterprises Minister Rini Soemarno said in a press conference on Thursday.

'€œIn conducting the assessment, we focused on assessing the candidate'€™s track record and integrity since we believe that the new president director can quickly learn about the technical aspects,'€ she said.

Meanwhile, Transportation Minister Ignasius Jonan, as the regulator, said that AP II'€™s new president director should first improve the airports'€™ safety aspects and its service, both to airlines and passengers.

Jonan had previously said that the country'€™s state-run airport operators were unable to keep pace with the growing number of passengers and should have started development projects at existing airports 10 years ago.

'€œWe hope we can cooperate well with AP II given the fact that 50 percent of flights in the country take place at airports managed by AP II,'€ he said.

Budi assumed the Jakpro CEO position in 2013, having previously served as president director of publicly listed PT Pembangunan Jaya Ancol for nine years.

At AP II, Budi will work with five new directors, namely Faik Fahmi, who previously served as flag carrier PT Garuda Indonesia'€™s services director, Djoko Murjatmodjo, a former Transportation Ministry acting director general for air transportation, Ituk Herarindri from KAI, Daan Achmad from Angkasa Pura I and Andra Y. Agussalam from state-owned electronic components maker PT LEN Industri.

Ahead of the ASEAN Open Sky Policy, which is scheduled to come into effect by the end of this year, Budi said that AP II would aim to revamp Soekarno-Hatta to become ASEAN'€™s second-best airport within the next three years.

'€œAmid the fast growing number of air passengers, we see the potential to generate a higher income, which will be returned to our service users in the form of improved facilities at the airport,'€ Budi said,

He also said that the firm would continue its plan to build a third runway at Soekarno-Hatta and cooperate with state-owned train operator PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) and state-owned bus company Damri to provide better connectivity between the airport and the capital city.

Meanwhile, Rini said that the ministry had proposed Rp 3 trillion (US$239.3 million) in state capital injection (PMN) for AP II in the revised 2015 state budget to fund the firm'€™s development projects.

During the press conference, Rini also said that the ministry would soon hold a shareholders meeting to name the new president director of state-owned cement company Semen Indonesia, following the appointment of its former president, Dwi Soetjipto, as CEO of national oil company Pertamina.