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TRANSPORTATION Minister Budi Karya Sumadi on Wednesday (4/26) reviewed the readiness of transportation facilities and infrastructure in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), which will host the 42nd ASEAN Summit in May 2023.
As part of his review, he visited several locations, namely Komodo Airport, Marina Bay Pier, and the tourist area in Tana Mori, which will be one of the activity points for the summit.
“I want to ensure that transportation facilities and infrastructure are ready to properly serve the mobility of leaders and delegates participating in the ASEAN Summit, both to and from Labuan Bajo and their local mobility in Labuan Bajo,” Sumadi informed in a statement.
He said that a number of preparations have been made to support the smooth mobility of the ASEAN Summit participants, namely preparing operations and beautifying facilities at Komodo Airport and also airports near the region, such as in Denpasar, Surabaya, Lombok, Kupang, and Jakarta.
“The preparations range from setting the capacity, determining aircraft parking stands, setting flight slots from and to Labuan Bajo, setting domestic and international routes, as well as installing signages such as banners, backdrops, stickers, and other communication media,” he added.
Sumadi explained that in addition, the Directorate General of Air Transportation of the Ministry of Transportation will also increase the frequency of flights to and from Labuan Bajo one week before the main event to support the movement of the committee, supporting stakeholders, and logistics, and also add temporary human resources at Komodo Airport.
Furthermore, together with the local police and NTT Transportation Service, the Directorate General has also prepared a number of traffic engineering schemes to expedite the movement of vehicles around and within the event area.
In addition, they will add road safety facilities such as public street lighting (PJU), guardrails, water barriers, delineators, traffic signs, and markings.
Then, they will provide 25 units of Hiace-type buses with 30 driver crews as shuttle transportation for delegates, committees, and journalists and also build 3 bus stops.
Sumadi described the ASEAN Summit in Labuan Bajo as a good momentum to introduce tourist destinations to guests from ASEAN countries and also the world.
“I hope that Indonesia’s chairmanship of the 2023 ASEAN Summit can run smoothly, just like when Indonesia was appointed as the chair of the G20 Summit last year in Bali,” he concluded. [antaranews/photo special]
