Angkasa Pura Airports has conducted groundbreaking ceremony for the Manado’s Sam Ratulangi International Airport development project on March 9, 2020, collaborating with state-owned construction company PT Adhi Karya as the project executor. collaborating with state-owned construction company PT Adhi Karya as the project executor.
The groundbreaking ceremony was conducted by Angkasa Pura Airports Technical Director Lukman F. Laisa and North Sulawesi Governor Olly Dondokambey.
"The development of Sam Ratulangi Airport in Manado is one of the efforts of Angkasa Pura Airports to support the Government's program in tourism sector, namely the development of five super priority tourist destinations of which Likupang in North Sulawesi is one of the five destinations," Lukman said.
Lukman added that the development project is targeted to be completed by December 2020.
Despite tourism industry being hit hard with the novel coronavirus pandemic which cause dropping numbers in travels, the potential growth of the industry will remain high in long-term period.
North Sulawesi Governor Olly Dondokambey is targeting one million foreign tourists to visit North Sulawesi in 2025 supported by the development of the Likupang special economic zone (KEK) on an area of 396 hectares. The development of Likupang will be able to attract around 162,000 foreign tourists in 2025 which will contribute 16 percent of the total target of one million foreign tourists.
The Manado Sam Ratulangi International Airport’s development project will increase the terminal capacity from 2.7 million with an area of 26,481 square meters to 5.7 million people per year with an area of 57,296 square meters. For information, in 2019 the airport has served 2.2 million passengers, 22,700 aircraft movements and 13,600 tons of cargo.
The airport will also be equipped with modern facilities such as adding fix bridge was from three to five units as well as check-in counters from 30 to 45 units. The parking area which can accommodate 350 four-wheeled vehicles will be able to accommodate up to 650 vehicles. Meanwhile, two wheels parking spot which can accommodate 734 units will later be able to accommodate 760 units.
In general, the design of the Sam Ratulangi International Airport terminal combines traditional and modern concepts. The traditional touch is in the form of Tarawesan Pareday batik motifs created in geometric shapes that resembles repeated line motives as a representation of a wave of human life from two directions, from above and below. The modern touch can be seen in terminal facilities with international standards.
In terms of service performance, the Sam Ratulangi International Airport has received 4.75 ratings on Customer Satisfaction Index in 2019 which means the service users are quite satisfied with the airport service. The airport ranked 11th on the CSI out of 78 airports globally in the category of two to five million passengers.
"It is hoped that this development will further improve the airport’s positioning in the future," Lukman said.
The development of Sam Ratulangi International Airport is one of six airports targeted to be completed in 2020. Other five airports include Adi Soemarmo International Airport in Solo, El Tari International Airport in Kupang, Terminal 1 of Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, Pattimura International Airport in Ambon, and Sentani International Airport in Jayapura who just joined the company in January 2020. Furthermore, airports whose development are targeted to be completed in 2020 are Sultan Hasanudin International Airport in Makassar and Lombok International Airport in Praya. [DR]
