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KUALANAMU International Airport is targeted to become a hub in the Southeast Asia region, competing with Kuala Lumpur Airport and Changi International Airport. Director of PT Angkasa Pura Aviasi Haris said Kualanamu airport will target the foreign aviation market by opening 50 international routes.
“We have opened 50 additional international routes in Southeast Asia, North Asia, the Indian sub-continent, Australia, Europe and the Middle East,” said Haris at Kualanamu Airport, Deli Serdang, North Sumatra, Thursday, December 30, 2021.
Angkasa Pura Aviation (APA) has established a strategic partnership with the GMR Airports Consortium to manage Kualanamu International Airport by forming a Joint Venture Company (JVCo). APA as the majority shareholder will control 51% of the shares in Angkasa Pura Aviation. Meanwhile, the GMR Airports Consortium holds a 49% stake.
The purpose of developing this entity is to add new routes to improve connectivity in North Sumatra as an entry point in the western part of Indonesia. According to Haris, so far Kualanamu has a large share potential, but it is still limited for passengers on domestic routes.
Therefore, in the 25-year management cooperation period, APA and GMR will increase the portion of international airport passengers from less than 10% to 40%. Haris said Kualanamu Airport would attract transit passenger movements from Pakistan, India, Japan, South Korea, which have been the largest share of Changi Airport and Kuala Lumpur.
To attract international airlines to open flights to Kualanamu, Haris ensured that Angkasa Pura would provide incentives. This form of incentive is still being discussed with the GMR consortium consisting of the GMR Group from India and Aéroports de Paris Group (ADP) from France.
“We are currently formulating an incentive package for airlines to encourage them to add new routes from Medan and increase the capacity of existing routes,” he said.
Meanwhile, GMR International CEO Puvan Sripathy said the consortium was interested in managing Kualanamju Airport because North Sumatra has a high market potential in terms of tourism. In addition, North Sumatra can become a center for international trade and the development of economic expansion.
“So, the demand for air transportation will increase and Medan with its strategic position is ready to catch the surge,” said Puvan.
Kualanamu Airport will be developed with a total capital of IDR56 trillion. Just like its share portion, most of the capital will be supported by APA. This capital is for four stages of management until the cooperation period ends in the next 25 years.
The funding needs of Kualanamu Airport include increasing terminal capacity, extending the runway, to developing an airport city. In the first stage, airport development requires a capital of IDR3 trillion, which is targeted to be completed in three years. [tempo.co.id/photo special]
