TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - State-owned airport operator Angkasa Pura II (AP II) will continue to develop Jenderal Besar Soedirman Airport in Wirasaba Village, Bukateja District, located around 11 kilometers from the centre of Purbalingga Regency.

According to AP II President Director Muhammad Awaluddin, in a statement received in Jakarta on Saturday, the first phase of the construction will be carried out in January this year.

"By early 2019, we can begin the initial development process. The construction will be developed simultaneously in 18-20 months," he noted.

AP II is going to provide a total budget of Rp320 billion for the airport development.

The development of the airport includes construction of 30x 1,600 meters of runway, new passenger terminals and passenger parking areas, as well as cargo terminals.

Supporting facilities, which will be built in the initial stage, includes motorized vehicle parking lots that can accommodate 70 cars and 172 motorcycles, polyclinics, prayer room, airport maintenance buildings, garbage shelters, sewage treatment, security offices, and buildings for other airport operations.

With the improvement in air and land facilities as well as airport infrastructure development, it is expected that the C-212 aircraft can land on the airport.

"For now, only C-212 aircraft can land here. In the future, (we expect) Airbus 320 Neo and Boeing 737 Max 8 to land on this airport," he remarked.

He also expected the number of commercial aircraft landing on Jenderal Besar Soedirman Airport to increase.

The development of the airport is aimed at boosting economic growth in the western to southern parts of Central Java, such as Banyumas Regency, Purbalingga Regency, Banjarnegara Regency, Wonosobo Regency, and Kebumen Regency.

The construction of the 115-hectare airport is expected to be completed in 2020.

After the first phase of construction is completed, AP II has projected 98 thousand passenger movements, which could grow up to 500 thousand passengers per year with 4.5 thousand aircraft movements.

In addition, cargo movement is also predicted to reach more than two thousand tons per year.

ANTARA