Nineteen companies are interested to be the strategic investor for the development and the operation of Kualanamu International Airport in North Sumatra. Hence, the airport SOE (State-Owned Enterprise) sent request for proposal (RfP) documents to the interested companies.

AP (Angkasa Pura) II Director of Strategic Transformation and Portfolio Armand Hermawan said that the 19 companies that had stated their interest to be the strategic investor partner came from Asean, Europe, and East Asia.

“The RfP documents will be sent to the potential investors by the end of January 2020. There is a cooperation transaction structure that will be implemented by AP II and its strategic partner,” Armand revealed in his official statement on Sunday (15/12).

He continued that the cooperation transaction structure in the RfP would follow regulations, aspirations of the government as the stakeholder, as well as national air transportation industry development. Furthermore, AP II and its strategic partner will be included in a joint venture company called PT Angkasa Pura Aviasi to operate and develop Kualanamu Airport.

“The strategic investor partner must have capabilities and global experiences in the airport sector, including [managing] business and operational aspects, increasing passenger and flight traffic, as well as providing long-term funding,” Armand Hermawan revealed.

Armand Hermawan said that the strategic investor partner determining process was set to be finished by the middle of the year, and the cooperation agreement was expected to be signed in July 2020.

According to Armand, the main purpose of this partnership program is to make Kualanamu International Airport an international hub in western Indonesia as well as to develop an aerocity around the airport which has US$500 million in investment.

In 2018, Kualanamu Airport has 10.5 million passengers. The passenger terminal in Kualanamu currently has a capacity of 8 million passengers yearly. The passenger terminal capacity is set to accommodate 17 million passengers in 2024.

“With the strategic partnership, Kualanamu development can be accelerated to accommodate the growth of the industry,” Armand explained.

The passenger terminal in Kualanamu will also be developed to have a capacity of 22 million passengers yearly in 2030. The warehouse area will also be expanded from 13,000 square metres (m2) to 27,318 m2.

“Kualanamu International Airport development will focus on the improvement of international connectivity, especially [among] Asean, South Asia, China, Middle East, as well as the improvement of domestic connectivity,” Armand said.

Meanwhile, Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi boosted Kualanamu Airport to be a hub for flights to and from India. Flight hubs are mostly provided by Malaysia.

The Transportation Minister said that the Indian market potential was very large, especially its air passenger market. This is because the population of India is very large, and the number of Indian tourists increases every year.

“India has [a population of] 1.3 billion people. Hence, we must make Kualanamu airport a passenger hub to and from India. Besides India, we can also tap Pakistani and Bangladesh markets,” Budi Karya revealed recently.

He added that PT Angkasa Pura (AP) II would prepare working programs to realise Kualanamu Airport becoming a flight hub to and from India.

“So, I ask AP II to create a format that makes flights with international operators easier. Then, we will ask the airlines, which uses hubs in Malaysia, to move to Kualanamu Airport,” the former AP II President Director said.

AP II Corporate Communication VP Yado Yarismano added that Kualanamu was the second largest airport, after Soekarno Hatta Airport in Tangerang, that was operated by AP II. AP II is currently focusing on the Kualanamu Airport development plan.