This article has been translated by PwC Indonesia as part of our Indonesia Infrastructure News Service. PwC Indonesia has not checked the accuracy of, and accepts no responsibility for the content.
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4 March 2024
By Ichsan Amin
Jakarta, ID – The Transportation Ministry through the Air Transportation Directorate General is targeting to complete six new airports in 2024. The airports are Banggai Laut Airport, Pahuwato Airport, Bolmong Airport, Sobaham Airport, Singkawang Airport, and Mandailing Natal Airport.
The Secretary of the Air Transportation Directorate of the Transportation Ministry, Cecep Kurniawan, revealed that there were currently 251 existing airports, including those under commercial management. Looking ahead, Indonesia still needs an additional 45 airports. This assessment considers the connectivity needs of both passengers and goods.
“The connectivity aspect [needs] more airports and [flight] routes. Moreover, passengers are forecasted to still be the main topic of discussion in the next five years in the Air Transportation Directorate General. This discussion will be an input for future work programmes,” Cecep said in Jakarta on Sunday (3/3/2024).
On the other hand, efforts to implement the public-private partnership (PPP) scheme are continuously expedited to reduce budget utilisation. This means the use of the State Budget (APBN) will be minimalised.
“This is reflected on the PPP scheme implemented in the construction of Dhoho Kediri Airport in East Java. With a limited APBN, the central government will look for more PPP opportunities,” he explained.
The Air Transportation Directorate General of the Transportation Ministry is currently preparing their 2025-2029 strategic plan. Besides constructing airports, their other focuses will be the air bridge and the pioneer air transportation programmes implemented to support economic growth, especially in frontier, outermost, underdeveloped, and border (3TP) regions.
Meanwhile, regarding regional development, there is a dedicated focus on non-APBN schemes, such as PPP, to support infrastructure projects in facing regional and global competitions.
From 2020 to 2024, four new airports have been completed and are now operational, namely Mentawai Airport, Douw Aturure Nabire Airport, Fakfak Airport, and Ewer Airport.
Meanwhile, six other airports, namely Banggai Laut Airport, Pahuwato Airport, Bolmong Airport, Sobaham Airport, Singkawang Airport, and Mandailing Natal Airport, are set to be completed and to operate in 2024.
Besides that, an airport that is a result of the PPP scheme, Dhoho Kediri Airport, has completed construction and is ready to operate.
Meanwhile, the growth in domestic flights has surged by 71% compared to 2019. Additionally, the recovery rates for domestic passengers and cargo stand at 83% and 79%, respectively.
“We are expecting input from aviation stakeholders, including academicians. We believe that with continuous collaborations and mutual commitments, we can realise our dream to expedite the growth and the advancement of the aviation sector for the next five years,” Cecep added.
Growth potential
Indonesia National Air Carriers (INACA) Chairperson Denon Prawiraatmadja stated that the construction and development of airports in Indonesia took into account the growth potential of each respective region.
Denon highlighted that, currently, only 5% of transportation users in Indonesia utilised air travel. Considering the growth potential across all regions, there is a significant opportunity for this percentage to expand.
“What the government is doing by building new airports is a positive step. The government is opening air accessibility as wide as possible through the management of airport implementing units and public service agencies,” Denon said to Investor Daily.
Denon pointed out that, with the current air transportation user rate at only 5%, the construction of new airports has the potential to significantly boost the number of air transportation users.
“We will support the construction of new airports in Indonesia as long as the passenger potential is high. Providing transportation access is the obligation of the government. We only need to see if the access can develop regional growth,” he stated.
Meanwhile, INACA Secretary General Bayu Sutanto added that, last year, the national aviation business had issues and could not achieve the set target.
“There were issues and a long process was required to recover. If there is no disturbance, it can be faster,” he said.
INACA predicted that the number domestic flight passengers in 2023 would reach around 70.8 million, comprising of 66.8 million regular passengers and an additional 4 million passengers during the 2023/2024 Christmas and New Year holidays.
This number surpassed the number of domestic passengers in 2022, which stood at 56.4 million. Nevertheless, it fell short of the target set for 2023 by the Air Transportation Directorate General of the Transportation Ministry, which was 74.7 million passengers.
In comparison to the pre-pandemic year of 2019, when domestic passengers reached 79.5 million, the recovery rate has now reached 89%.
The inability to reach the passenger target in 2023 can be attributed to several persisting issues currently faced by the national aviation industry.
“The first issue is the number of aircrafts. Besides that, the government's restrictions and limitations on importing spare parts have led to a prolonged and relatively costly spare part import process. This issue is not prevalent in other countries,” Bayu added.
