TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - State-owned airport operator Angkasa Pura II corporate secretary Agus Haryadi expects that driverless Soekarno-Hatta Airport Skytrain will operate this month. “It will be a gift for the Independence Day and to Angkasa Pura II,” Agus told Tempo today.
Indonesia’s Independence Day falls on August 17, whereas Angkasa Pura II celebrates its birthday on August 13. “We had expected that Skytrain could operate on schedule,” he said.
Driverless Skytrain at Soekarno-Hatta Airport was expected to operate in early August but Angkasa Pura II has delayed the trial and unveiling of the transportation service.
Read: Soekarno Hatta Airport Train to Operate Early in 2018: KAI
“Plans were made, but situations on the ground dictate otherwise. A technical problem has forced a delay,” Angkasa Pura II operations and technical director Djoko Murdjatmojo said on Wednesday.
Djoko said that the plans for a trial and operations of Skytrain have changed constantly. Angkasa Pura II had earlier promised a trial before Eid, after Eid, the end of July and early August. The target for operations also changed from July to August. “That was the plan; we had expected them to be faster. We have a lengthy contract until November,” Djoko said.
Angkasa Pura II spokesman Yado Yarismano said that overall the development of the mode of transport with Automated People Mover System (APMS) technology, such as the Skytrain, is 90 percent complete.
JONIANSYAH HARDJONO
