.....I positively welcome and support the initiative of Jambi provincial administration to develop Sultan Thaha airport," stated Mangidaan.....Jakarta (ANTARA Jambi) - The process of expansion of the Sultan Thaha airport to meet international standards, and the Ujung Jabung seaport as the main harbor for economic activity in Jambi province needs to be accelerated.
A plan to expand the airport and seaport in the province was made a few years ago but was never implemented and thus, remained a discussion to date.
The people of Jambi have expressed their hope that the statement, which was made by the Transportation Minister EE Mangindaan to support the development of transportation infrastructure in the province, will be fulfilled.
"We are afraid that the minister's statement to support the development in Jambi is just a rhetoric of political slogans ahead of the upcoming general elections," Jambi Gold Watch Presidium (JEW) spokesman Nasroel Yasir stated in Jambi, last week.
Nasroel noted that the transportation minister should take his promise seriously and help finish the pending work of expanding the Sultan Taha airport and Ujung Jabung seaport in Jambi.
Speaking at a function to observe the 57th anniversary of Jambi province in Jambi last Monday, Transportation Minister Mangindaan assured his support for the Jambi provincial administration initiative to develop Sultan Thaha airport to meet international standard.
"I positively welcome and support the initiative of Jambi provincial administration to develop Sultan Thaha airport," stated the transportation minister, here on Monday.
He added that the central government continues to support the development of several airports in the country, including the one in Jambi province, to ensure regional economic development.
According to him, since the development of Sultan Thaha airport has been included in the Transportation Ministry's program, work on some facility and infrastructure is already underway.
"The expansion of Sultan Thaha's apron, taxi way and runway is underway," he noted, adding that the runway will be extended to 2,600 meters.
Mangindaan then called on the Jambi provincial administration to coordinate with airport management company PT Angkasa Pura to implement the development of Sultan Thaha airport as soon as possible.
"PT Angkasa Pura has agreed to develop the airport, which we will support," Mangindaan noted.
Since 2011, the runway of Sultan Thaha airport has been planned for expansion to accommodate bigger airplanes in line with the increasing number of passengers and flight frequency to Jambi.
The airport spokesman Abiyoso pointed out that a number of airline companies which served the Jambi route at the time were operating Boeing 737-300 and Boeing 737-400 but were unable to operate bigger planes because the runway of Sultan Thaha airport was too short to accommodate them.
He explained that the expansion of Sultan Thaha airport's runway was intended to accommodate bigger aircraft such as Boeing 737-758.
In April 2007, PT Angkasa Pura II took over Sultan Thaha airport management from Jambi provincial transportation office and is now serving a number of airline companies namely Garuda Indonesia, Lion Air, Sriwijaya Air and Kartika Airlines.
Originally called Paalmerah airport, the aerodrome was built during the colonial era; starting 2011, its capacity has been increased to serve the increasing number of passengers.
PT Angkasa Pura II will also add the facility of Instrument Landing System (ILS) to enable incoming aircrafts to make a perfect landing even in bad weather, and also to make it an international airport.
Further, the transportation minister explained that the Ministry of Transportation has also planned to develop Ujung Jabung sea port at Tanjung Jabung Timur district as the main port in the Jambi province.
"Jambi is yet to have a main seaport and therefore we support the Ujung Jabung port development in making a main harbor in the province," he added.
Mangindaan pointed out that the Ujung Jabung port is expected to be connected to the Dumai port in Riau province and Tanjung Api-Api port in South Sumatra, thus making the three ports a sea corridor in Sumatra.
Mangindaan stated that the construction of Ujung Jabung port has been included in the 2014 budget and also in the revised budget, to make it a main port out of 14 ports - four collecting ports and 10 feeder ports - in Jambi.
He added that even though the project had been included in 2013 budget, the House of Representatives had postponed it because the disbursal was delayed.
"The House then approved it in October but because of the brief tender and construction, it was included in the 2014 budget," he explained, adding that Ujung Jabung port will be divided into three docks, namely cargo and passenger dock, crude palm oil dock and coal dock.
The Ministry has targeted to complete construction in 2015, so that the port can be used to connect to Dumai port and Tanjung Api Api port in South Sumatra.
The construction of Ujung Jabung port is among the several projects that the Indonesian government is proposing to fast track under the Master Plan for the Acceleration and Expansion of Indonesia's Economic Development (MP3EI).
The Jambi provincial administration is being urged to accelerate the construction of the seaport, which is expected to become the gateway for Sumatra's economic development. Bringing it under the MP3EI programme will give the provincial government access to some state funding.
Meanwhile, Jambi Governor Hasan Basri Agus stated that the port is part of construction of Ujung Jabung economic area.
"The construction can be one of the economic triggers to increase competitiveness of Jambi's products," the governor noted, adding that infrastructure was an important thing for economic progress of a province, particularly those supporting areal connectivity.
He noted that Jambi indeed has some big infrastructure projects to realize, such as development of Sultan Taha airport, and railway connecting Ujung Jabung, Dumai and West Sumatra.
Therefore the transportation minister expressed hope that the development of the railway line in Jambi can also be carried out immediately.
"I hope the provincial administration will soon make a feasibility study to start the development work for the railway line immediately," the minister added.
Building a network of railway transportation in the region of Sumatera is believed to be one of the quick measures to accelerate people's welfare.
Although it is still limited to link areas from North Sumatra to Jambi, this cheap and economical transport network will definitely widen the path to accelerate economic development in Sumatra, and to remove poverty in the region.
The railway network, with an investment of around Rp1 trillion, will stretch from the border of North Sumatrat to Jambi, in the first phase, with a network length of 625 km, namely from Rantauprapat to Dumai, Riau.
The railway network from Rantauprapat to Dumai will continue to Duri - Pekanbaru - Teluk Kuantan - Indragiri Hilir, and further develop upto Muarojambi in Jambi Province.
The construction of the Trans Sumatra Railway is a long-term project, to be implemented in three stages, scheduled for completion by 2030.(Ant)
Pewarta: Otniel Tamindael: Edy Supriyadi
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