Revival of Airport Project: Banyuwangi, East Java

Ainur pedaled his bike quickly, enjoying the smooth ride on the asphalted road with the wind at his back. “It’s like riding on an airplane,” he said. The road Ainur and his friends use as their playground almost every afternoon is the runway of the Banyuwangi Airport, located in Blimbingsari village, Ronggojampi district, Banyuwangi regency in East Java.

The airport project, which was initially planned in 1995, has been in progress for 12 years.

Former Banyuwangi regent Purnomo Sidik initially proposed the project. He envisioned then that Banyuwangi would become the second largest city in East Java after Surabaya and would require its own airport. However, the planned construction of the airport was shelved after the country was plagued with various national problems, such as the economic crisis and several changes in national leadership.

In 2001, former Banyuwangi regent Samsul Hadi tried to revive the plan. He was fortunate because the government was planning to improve the country’s aviation sector by building a number of new airports at the time.

The Ministry of Transportation issued Decree No. 49/2003 establishing the locations of new airports. East Java was allocated with five new airports to be constructed in Malang, Banyuwangi, Sumenep (Madura), Gresik (Bawean) and Jember. However, the government decided to only completely fund the construction of the Banyuwangi Airport from the state budget.

Banyuwangi welcomed this decision and the administration established a task force to be responsible for the project. The team then surveyed a number of locations and eventually selected a site in Blimbingsari as the appropriate place to build the airport.

Geographically, Blimbingsari was considered an ideal location due to its elevation of 20 to 30 meters above sea level and its flat topography.

Despite being located some 21 kilometers from Banyuwangi city, Blimbingsari’s coastal location near the Bali Strait was considered beneficial.

Construction of the airport commenced and in 2006 some Rp 48 billion (approximately US$5.3 million) had already been spent on the project. Of this amount, Rp 37 billion was from the regency budget and Rp 11.5 billion was from the state budget.

The funds covered costs to build the runway (900 X 23 meters), taxiway (75 X 15 meters) and apron (60 X 40 meters), in addition to operational and power generating facilities, administrative offices, workshops and departure and arrival terminals.

The project will receive another Rp 29.1 billion this year for land acquisition purposes and to build meteorology and commercial buildings.

“The runway will be extended to 1,400 meters this year,” head of the Banyuwangi Transportation Office Bambang Wahyudi said.

The Banyuwangi regency administration is hopeful the airport will commence operating in October this year. Merpati Nusantara Airlines has expressed its readiness to pioneer scheduled flights in and out of Banyuwangi.

Although the construction process seems to have been relatively smooth, several problems were encountered during the land acquisition process, including a sudden surge in land prices when residents became aware of the planned airport to be built in their area.

“Some residents even asked for Rp 200,000 per square meter of land, which is a big jump from the fixed price of Rp 60,000,” Bambang said.

However, the situation did not lead to mounting expenses. The Banyuwangi regency administration opted to resolve the matter via legal channels.

An emerging problem lies in the area of human resource development in Banyuwangi, which at the present time is insufficient to support running the airport.

However, the regency administration has sent three of its employees to the Curug Flying School in West Java.

“Two of them are attending the airport management course and the other one is attending the flight safety management course,” Bambang said.

Aekanu Hariyono from the Banyuwangi Tourism Office predicts the opening of the airport will boost tourism in the regency.

“Most of the time, efforts to promote tourism in the area have encountered transportation problems. I hope these will disappear after the airport starts operating,” Aekanu said.

ID Nugroho