East Kalimantan Launches New Sepinggan Airport
24 March 2014 01:10 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A new Sepinggan international airport in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan was officially in operation on Saturday, March 22, 2014 at 6 am, Eastern Indonesian Time.
The operation of the new airport was marked by the first flight of Lion Air No. JT763 from Balikpapan to Jakarta, at 6 am local time.
"The new terminal of the new Sepinggan Airport will be officially in operation," said head of the construction project of Sepinggan Airport, WendoAsrul Rose, Saturday, March 22, 2014.
The inauguration ceremony of the new airport was attended by East Kalimantan governor as well as other officials from Balikpapan city government.
The inauguration ceremony took place at the new terminal, located to the old terminal, which is no longer used.
Sepinggan airport is now the second biggest airport in Eastern Indonesia and the construction of the airport used Rp2 trillion.
The new airport covers an area of 17,000-meter square and is eight times bigger than the old airport. It will also have renovated basic infrastructures of the airport such as a parking space, towers, and a boutique mall.
The new Sepinggan airport is also expected to be the first airport in Indonesia that has a mall covering an area of 20,000 meter square.
The airport, which is designed with a futuristic concept and Kalimantan art concept, is also equipped with a world-class transportation security system, which is able to detect every luggage the enters the airport. The luggage will be sorted automatically by using a barcode attached in each luggage.
SG WIBISONO
