INDONESIA: President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono broke ground on Thursday of the major upgrade of the Soekarno Hatta International Airport that will increase yearly passenger capacity from current 22 million to 62 million and include two rail links to Jakarta.

The overhaul of the Terminal 3 is estimated to finish in 2014 followed by the modernisation of Terminals 1 and 2.

Transport Minister EE Mangindaan said that the development was needed because of the soaring numbers of passengers travelling through the airport.

According to the managing director of Angasa Pura II, the state owned operator of the airport, the Soekarno Hatta International Airport currently serves 51.5 million passengers per year, whereas its capacity is only up to 22 million passengers. "The development is expected to increase the capacity up to 62 million passengers per year," said Tri S Sunoko.

In addition to the development of Terminal 1, 2, and 3, the plan is to build a new cargo terminal with supporting facilities, such as business and commercial areas and surface access. A new runway in Terminal 4 is to be built after 2014, which could increase the passenger capacity to 87 million per year and 234 aircraft movements per hour.

Another part of the overhaul is to build a connecting facility between terminals 1 and 2 that will serve as a transit hub, with automated people mover between terminals, as well as a bus terminal and a railway station connecting the airport to downtown Jakarta.

Among the main highlights of the overhaul is the construction of two train lines from Manggarai Station in South Jakarta to Soekarno-Hatta’s Terminal 3.

According to Jakarta Globe, Dahlan Iskan, the minister for state enterprises, previously said that one of the lines would run west from Manggarai to Tangerang along existing tracks, before turning north on new tracks to the airport.

The other line will be an express service running on elevated tracks directly from Manggarai to the airport.

Tundjung Inderawan, the Transportation Ministry’s director general for rail transportation, said the Tangerang line would be completed sometime next year and go into operation in 2014. He added that the 19.3-kilometer line would cost Rp 1.7 trillion to build.

The express line, which Dahlan said would cost far more, is expected to be funded through a public-private partnership.

“The document on the PPP is still being evaluated by consultants,” Tundjung said.

“We hope that we can get an opinion on it later this year so that we can hold the tender for investors in 2013.”

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