TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and First Lady Ani Yudhoyono planted a Borneo Ironwood tree to officiate the launch of a new terminal at Sultan Haji Muhammad Sulaiman Sepinggan International Airport in Balikpapan on Monday.
"Hopefully this tree will be beneficial for everyone," said President Yudhoyono as he was helped by the First Lady, who uttered a similar wish.
In the launch event, President Yudhoyono was accompanied by Transport Minister EE Mangindaan, East Kalimantan Governor Awang Faroek Ishak, Balikpapan Mayor Rizal Effendi and Samarinda Mayor Syaharie Jaang.
SBY is also slated to officially launch a number of projects under the Masterplan for Indonesia's Economic Development Acceleration (MP3EI)—seven of which are located in East Kalimantan, while another 10 are built outside of East Kalimantan.
Next, President SBY took part in a groundbreaking ceremony to launch the Kalimantan Institute of Technology (ITK) in Balikpapan and the Institute of Indonesian Arts and Culture in Kutai-Kartanegara.
A four-story terminal building with a floor space of 110,000 square meters and 11 air bridges is built for Balikpapan's Sultan Haji Muhammad Sulaiman Sepinggan International Airport, which is also known as Sepinggan Airport.
The new terminal increased the airport's capacity to 10 million passengers per year—up from its previous capacity of 1,6 million passengers per year. Prior to the expansion, Sepinggan Airport was already being used by 6,4 million passengers per year.
ANTARA
