Batam, Batamnews - The development of Hang Nadim Airport has begun with the signing of a cooperation agreement between the Batam Concession Agency (BP) and PT Batam International Airport, PT Angkasa Pura (Persero), Incheon International Airport Corporation, and PT Wijaya Karya (Persero), Tuesday (21 /12/2021).

The Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartanto, in his virtual speech, said that the development of Hang Nadim Airport could start no later than 6 months after the cooperation agreement was signed.

"The development of Hang Nadim Airport has an investment of Rp 6.9 trillion, and the collaboration is carried out for 25 years," said Airlangga.

He targeted Hang Nadim Airport to be able to increase passenger services up to two times, and cargo services to reach 1.5 times the 2019 achievement before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Based on its capacity, currently Hang Nadim can accommodate 3.5-5 million passengers per year and a cargo capacity of 40 thousand tons.

"It is hoped that when Hang Nadim Airport is developed it can provide direct benefits to BP Batam of Rp. 3.9 trillion," he said.

In addition, Airlangga also advised BP Batam or the holder of the Hang Nadim Airport development consortium to seize opportunities for both domestic and international flight traffic.

Domestic flights include direct flights to Makassar, Bali, and Lombok. That way it can also support collaborative tourism.

Meanwhile, for international flights, Airlangga said that after being developed Hang Nadim could open flights to China, India, South Korea, and Thailand.

"With the connection to Incheon International Airport, we can open a market in South Korea, thereby encouraging Batam as an aerocity logistics, be it e-commerce, blockchain products," he said.

However, with a note, it was also in line with reducing logistics costs so that existing products can be competitive. So that international trade routes are more open, at least they can become a bridge between Indonesia and South Korea.

On that occasion, Airlangga said the development of Hang Nadim Airport already has extraordinary support, because the owner of the consortium, Angkasa Pura, has managed 15 airports by serving 83.4 million passengers per year both domestic and foreign.

In addition, it serves cargo up to 556 thousand tons per year and has 5 subsidiaries. Then Incheon International Airport has also served 71 million passengers per year, 2.76 million tons of cargo, has superiority for intercontinental routes, 88 airlines, and 52 destination countries.

"And Wijaya Karya, which is the largest construction company in Indonesia, allows Hang Nadim to shift the Singapore market, e-commerce center," he concluded.