A new international airport is to open in Malang, the second largest city in East Java, with officials expecting construction to begin in 2019.

Purboyo Airport, to be built in Srigonco village in the southern part of the city, would require at least 600 hectares of land, said Malang Regent Rendra Kresna.

The airport is slated to replace the current Abdulrachman Saleh Airport in Saptorenggo village, Pakis district, which is essentially an Air Force base that doubles as a commercial airport.

The detailed engineering design ( DED ) and feasibility study are currently being drafted by the East Java provincial administration, said Rendra, adding that the drafting process was expected to conclude in 2017 so that physical construction could begin in 2019.

"In principle, we are ready to fully support [the project] within our role and capability," Rendra said on Friday, as quoted by tempo.co.

Rendra said the central government had allocated budget funds of Rp 4 billion ( US$294,000 ) for the airport’s construction. Those funds would be sourced from the 2017 state budget, he added.

Rendra said the funds had been approved by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, who had agreed to the building of the airport after East Java Governor Soekarwo had applied for funding on March 26.

The head of East Java’s transportation agency, Wahid Wahyudi, confirmed the current drafting of the DED and feasibility study.

So far, he said, the construction plans were still at the stage of coordination between the East Java provincial administration, the Malang administration, the Transportation Ministry and the Indonesian Navy.

Currently, Purboyo lands, which stretch across 4,811 hectares, are used for the Marine Combat Training Centre. Tempo magazine has reported that 47 hectares of those lands were currently disputed between the marines and the residents of five villages in Bantur district, namely Srigonco, Pringgodani, Sumberbening, Bandungrejosari and Karangsari. ( liz/bbn )

Source:
courtesy of THE JAKARTA POST

by The Jakarta Post

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