REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BANDUNG -- Governor of West Java Ahmad Heryawan and President Director of PT Ilthabi Rekatama Ilham Habibie signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop a factory to assemble the R80 aircraft.
The MoU was signed by Heryawan, a major shareholder of PT Bandara Internasional Jawa Barat (BIJB), and Habibie, son of former Indonesian president B. J. Habibie, at the latter's residence in Jakarta on Thursday, August 6, night.
According to a press release issued by the West Java administration's Public Relations Division on Friday, the MoU also covers the development of BIJB in Kertajati village in Majalengka district, West Java.
The West Java International Airport, which will be built by PT BIJB, will be the largest air gateway to West Java, to replace Husein Sastranegara Airport in Bandung.
Moreover, Heryawan refused to comment on the signing of the MoU.
"On behalf of the provincial government, I am only a major shareholder," he stated, adding that he hoped the president director of BIJB, Virda Dimas Ekaputra, would elaborate on the MoU.
Ekaputra said that his side, along with the government of West Java, will hold discussions on the aircraft assembling factory and also prepare a plot of land for the purpose.
The R80 is a turboprop aircraft, expected to be ready for use by 2021. Its competitor is the French-Italy-made ATR 72-600.
It is believed that the R80 is 10 to 15 percent more fuel-efficient than the ATR 72-600. This model was designed and developed by B. J. Habibie and his son Ilham Habibie.
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