Indonesian airport operator Angkasa Pura II (AP II) has signed a tentative agreement to manage the Raden Inten II airport, located in Lampung, for 30 years.
In 2018, Raden Inten II airport handled two million passengers, and 16,000 aircraft movements. A new 9,650sqm passenger terminal was inaugurated in March.
"So far, the government has [allocated] Rp100 billion ($7.08 million) annually from the state budget for the operations of the Raden Inten II airport. It is hoped that Angkasa Pura II will be [able] to generate Rp110 billion [in revenue] annually, which can be funnelled back to the government to build airports in regions that are in need [of access]," says transport minister Budi Karya Sumadi.
Having secured international status, Sumadi adds that the airport could also be used for pilgrimage flights to Saudi Arabia and business aviation. It can handle widebodies up to A330 size.
Cirium schedules data shows that Lampung is connected to 11 domestic points, with carriers such as Batik Air, Garuda Indonesia, Citilink, and Lion Air all fly to the city.
In the near future, AP II will take over the management of Bengkulu's Fatmawati Soekarno and Tanjung Pandan's H.A.S Hanandjoeddin airports. Last year, it took over the management of Palangkaraya's Tjilik Riwut airport.
Sumadi flagged the limitations of Indonesia's state budget in funding airport operations across the country.
"The government can only fulfil at most, 30% of the airport's needs if this were to come from the state budget. If the airports has a need for Rp1.4 quadrillion [in funding], the maximum that we can meet is around Rp800 trillion," he adds.
