Holiday Ayo - Minister of Transportation (Menhub) Budi Karya Sumadi revealed the government's plans to develop Komodo Airport in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara. 

The Minister of Transportation said that one of the investors being targeted was from South Korea. According to Budi, this step is taken if the government budget is insufficient for infrastructure development. 

“Yes (will collaborate with South Korea). So if we need to build again but there is no government budget then we will collaborate with the private sector," said Budi at JiExpo Kemayoran, Jakarta, Friday (6/9). 

“Among them is Labuan Bajo. We have just built a domestic terminal in Labuan Bajo, not yet an overseas terminal. But currently it operates abroad but is limited. But later foreign investors will come to develop it," he explained. 

Previously, Budi had invited foreign and domestic private companies to invest in the development of Komodo Airport. 

The funding scheme can use Government Cooperation with Business Entities (KPBU). 

“We are looking for local and international partners so that creative financing can be done at Labuan Bajo Airport. We believe that Labuan Bajo is the next of Bali," he said at the Park Hyatt, Jakarta, on May 14 2024. 

He revealed that the airport which is included in the list of national strategic projects (PSN) is small in size but has quite large potential for development. 

Considering that Labuan Bajo is a popular tourist destination and is often a venue for international events such as the 42nd ASEAN Summit (KTT) 2023. 

“The airport is small but good," said the Minister of Transportation.

He added that the government is also opening up opportunities for investors who want to work together in the development of transportation infrastructure, both by sea, land, air and rail.  

“We are open to inviting the private sector to manage it so that so far we have had to leave our project to make investment that can be replaced by the private sector. Of course we are trying to provide easier regulations," he said. 

Quoting the Indonesia.go.id page, Komodo Airport, which was founded in 2015, was expanded in 2020-2021 with an investment value of IDR 3 trillion. 

On July 21 2022, the Komodo Airport runway was extended from the previous size of 2,450 meters x 45 meters to 2,650 meters x 45 meters. 

This extension means that the airport, which stands on an area of 114.1 hectares, can accommodate narrow body aircraft such as the Boeing 737-800 and Airbus A320. 

The apron used for aircraft parking has also been expanded to a size of 310 meters x 100 meters so that it can accommodate 4 narrow-body aircraft and 3 propeller aircraft.