Today, President Jokowi Inaugurates Komodo Airport

TheIndonesia.id - Indonesian Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi and Minister of Public Works and Public Housing Basuki Hadimuljono inspect Komodo Airport in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) on Wednesday, July 20, 2022. Today, Thursday, July 21, President Joko Widodo will inaugurate the airport's latest development to serve tourists to this priority destination.

"I and Mr. Basuki came to Labuan Bajo to ensure that the infrastructure in one of these five tourist destinations has been completed properly," said Budi Karya in a statement received by Antara in Jakarta on Wednesday.

The Minister of Transportation states that the construction and development of transportation infrastructure in Labuan Bajo is to support the tourism potential in Labuan Bajo. "We have finished building this airport and currently has a capacity of up to 1 million passengers per year. In the future, we will increase the runway to 2,750 meters," he said.

The Ministry of Transportation through the Directorate General of Air Transportation is developing the expansion of Komodo Airport from 2020 to 2022. The scope of development is on the air side, namely the extension of the runway from the previous 2,450 m X 45 m to 2,650 m x 45 m, which can accommodate B737 Series aircraft ( narrow-body).

On the land side, the terminal building was expanded to 13,366 square meters and beautified with a more attractive appearance for tourists. The Minister of Transportation further explained, that not only building an airport, the government has also built a new multipurpose port in the Wae Kelambu area, which is approximately 10-12 km from the old port in the center of Labuan Bajo.

With the construction of a special logistics port at Wae Kelambu, the old Labuan Bajo Port was also set up by the government specifically to serve tourist ships. These two ports are expected to increase tourism in Labuan Bajo so that it is more advanced and logistics activities are more optimal.

"The Labuan Bajo (Waterfront) port is also planned to be inaugurated by the President tomorrow," he said.

During his working visit to NTT, the Minister of Transportation also visited other areas, namely, the Tenau Port in Kupang to see the performance of the Sea Toll Road and the construction site of an International Freight Terminal at the Motaain Cross-border Post (PLBN) in Atambua.