Sriwijaya Air commercial director Toto Nursatyo said the company had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with PT Bintan Resorts Cakrawala, a subsidiary of Gallant Venture Group — controlled by the Salim group.

“The main objective is to make it a main destination, not just a side destination. The [under construction] airport can make the destination more interesting and become an international gateway for foreign tourists,” he said recently.

The MoU covers several aspects, including direct flights to the under construction Bintan Airport, the development of hotels and infrastructure in Bintan and the promotion of multiple destinations connecting Bintan with Yogyakarta, Bali and Manado.

With the MoU, the number of hotel rooms is expected to increase to 7,000 rooms in 2020, from the current 1,700 rooms. Along with that, Sriwijaya is looking at the possibility of developing its maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) in Bintan Resorts, and to turn Bintan Airport as its fleet’s home base.

Bintan Resorts recorded 700,000 visitors in 2016, with 300,000 of whom were foreign tourists. The number of foreign tourists is expected to soar to 4.8 million in 2019, from Batam and Bintan only. Overall, the government aims to attract 20 million foreign visitors in 2019 nationwide.

Until now, 30 percent of the foreign visitors were from Singapore, the nearby neighboring country, even though the number of Chinese visitors has recently surpassed the Singaporean counterpart in January, Bintan Resorts stated.

Sriwijaya Air stated that with the spike in the number of Chinese tourists, it also planned to open direct flights from Chinese cities, such as Hangzhou and Wuhan, to Bintan Airport. Last year alone, Toto said the airline had taken 800,000 Chinese tourists to Indonesia.

Meanwhile, Bintan Aviation Investments managing director Michael BK Wudy said the airport itself had commenced construction in 2014, with investment up to US$150 million. “We have made 85 percent progress on the runway’s foundation,” he said, adding that the runway would be 3 kilometers-long and be able to welcome wide-body aircraft.

The airport itself will cater to 1 million passengers in its first phase of construction, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2018.

The company has procured 4,000 hectares of land, from which 700 hectares will be allocated for the airport and 500 hectares for MRO industries.

“We will build this first, although we have a master plan. We will see if it bodes well. It will depend on passenger demand,” Michael said.

The company will also work with state airport operator Angkasa Pura (AP) II for the operation of the airport, as the company has an airport operator permit (BUBU). AP II, which operates Tanjung Pinang Airport in Riau, might connect Tanjung Pinang flights with those at Bintan Airport.

As for MRO facilities, Sriwijaya Maintenance Facility (SMF) president director Richard Budihadianto said the company was looking at possible cooperation schemes with Bintan Resorts. “We can rent the land in Bintan or work together through a joint venture. We are still looking at the possibilities,” he said.

Previously, Gallant Venture signed an MoU with national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia to build its MRO workshop in the same area, to be managed by Garuda Maintenance Facility in 2014. However, the cooperation did not continue.

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