REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, SUKABUMI -- The Transportation Ministry is planning to build an airport in Sukabumi in 2019.

Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said here on Tuesday that the ministry would survey the location for construction of the airport.

"I have discussed with the regent regarding the construction of this airport. It could be between Sukabumi and Pelabuhan Ratu. We will consider the most suitable location (for the airport), because there should be no obstacles, mountains, or hills," he stated on the sideline of a discussion on Southern Java connectivity.

The minister elaborated that a feasibility study would be conducted in parallel with land release process, which is targeted to be completed by the end of 2019.

The construction is expected to be completed and its operation is expected to be started by the end of 2020, he added.

Total investment for the construction is projected to reach Rp300 to Rp400 billion, and the airport would accommodate narrow-bodied aircrafts.

Sukabumi would need an airport to provide adequate transportation facility to support its tourism sector, he noted.

Development in tourism sector would need adequate air transportation, as well as roads and railways.

"Now, it takes six hours to reach Sukabumi from Jakarta. I think there must be another mode of transportation, and we will conduct the feasibility study soon," he remarked, adding that the construction project would also be opened for private sector.

In addition to the airport, the government will start the construction project of Bogor-Sukabumi double-track railroads in December.

The double-track railroad would cut short the traveling time from two hours to 1.5 hours, and its capacity would also be increased from six coaches to 12 coaches.

The railway is expected to become an alternative mode of transportation, with the current heavy traffic in Bogor-Sukabumi route.

Meanwhile, Sukabumi Regent Marwan Hamami pointed out that the airport could be build near Sukabumi city or Pelabuhan Ratu coast.

"We want this to cover Cianjur, Sukabumi Municipality, and Sukabumi District. This airport would facilitate transportation to (Ciletuh) Geopark, so that foreign tourists could visit this destination," he revealed.

A legislator of Commission IV of the House of Representatives, Dewi Asmara, has expressed her full support for the construction of transportation infrastructure in Sukabumi.

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