Spokesperson for the Ministry of Transportation, Elba Damhuri, revealed that the ministry is actively seeking private investors to manage airports across Indonesia. Collaborating with both domestic and foreign private investors remain one of the ministry’s strategies for developing the airport sector.
Elba stated that discussions are ongoing to explore potential investors for managing Indonesian airports.
“This week, we’ll be discussing this matter. In fact, this isn’t limited to airports but also includes seaports,” said Elba at the Ministry of Transportation on Tuesday (November 26, 2024), as reported by harianjogja.com.
However, Elba emphasized that the current priority is domestic private investors, with foreign investors not being the immediate focus. The ministry plans to assess which domestic investors might be interested in taking on the role of airport operators.
Efforts to involve private and foreign investors in airport management were also initiated under the leadership of Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi during President Joko Widodo’s administration. At that time, Budi introduced the concept of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) for Indonesian airports to foreign investors.
“There are airports that we plan to offer under the PPP scheme,” Budi stated at the Bali International Airshow 2024 press conference on Monday (August 19, 2024).
Middle Eastern countries, in particular, are seen as potential investors due to their existing collaborations with Indonesian airlines.
The PPP initiative is driven by the increasing investment needs for future development. With the state budget (APBN) unable to fully meet these needs, alternative financing mechanisms are becoming essential.
Seven New Airports and Regional Connectivity
Meanwhile, construction of new airports continues as part of efforts to enhance travel flow, support Indonesia’s tourism sector, and boost infrastructure development, including the airports and access roads.
The Ministry of Public Works, through the Directorate General of Highways, has completed access road construction for four major airports: Syamsuddin Noor Airport in South Kalimantan, Singkawang Airport in West Kalimantan, Rendani Airport in Manokwari, West Papua, and Siboru Airport in West Papua.
In addition, seven other airports, such as Tambelan Airport (Riau Islands), Morowali Airport (Central Sulawesi), and APT Pranoto Airport (East Kalimantan), are set to have access roads built in 2025, according to portonews.com.
During a coordination meeting held at the Ministry of Transportation office in Jakarta on Monday, November 25, 2024, Wida Nurfaida, Director of Road Development, reported that the Directorate General of Highways achieved its target of constructing 3,000 kilometers of national roads during the 2020–2024 period.
This includes 104.7 kilometers of access roads to transportation hubs across regions like North Sumatra, West Java, East Kalimantan, and Papua.
“This development is crucial to improving inter-regional connectivity in Indonesia,” said Wida.
The meeting was also attended by Minister of Public Works Dody Hanggodo and Minister of Transportation Dudy Purwagandhi. Both ministers discussed strategic steps to enhance collaboration between ministries to accelerate the development of connectivity infrastructure, particularly by improving access roads to airports and seaports that have been built but lack adequate road infrastructure.
“We discussed ways to expedite road construction, including both national and local roads,” Dody stated.
With strong cooperation between the two ministries, existing infrastructure is expected to better support public mobility, enhance regional connectivity, and drive national economic development.
Sources: harianjogja.com, portonews.com
Image source: Getty Images
