May 17, 2012
Bintan Resorts International will be the first private international airport in Indonesia. Photo: Khalil Adis
A new airport that broke ground yesterday in Bintan Resorts is expected to double tourist arrivals as well as facilitate investments on the resort island.
“This latest project is a further reflection of Bintan Resorts’ commitment to push ahead with a slew of enhancements and upgrades to boost its destination appeal,” said BG (Ret) Chin Chow Yoon, executive chairman of Bintan Resorts International, at the ground-breaking ceremony. “With greater accessibility to the resort destination, this airport project will serve to enhance the value of the many investments already made here and to attract more investments in new resorts, holiday homes, food & beverage, retail and attractions, especially at the newly master planned Lagoi Bay Development.”
Billed as the first private international airport in Indonesia, the airport is located in Busung, Kuala Lobam – just a 30-minute drive south-west to the beach resorts.
To be built at a cost of S$100 million (US$79 million) by Gallant Venture Ltd, the addition of Bintan Resorts International Airport will enhance connectivity to Bintan Resorts which is currently only accessible via ferries.
According to Bintan Resorts, visitor arrivals reached a new high of to 470, 470 in 2011.
However, it expects this record to soon be greatly surpassed once the new airport is operational by 2015.
Visitor arrivals to grow in tandem with increasing hotel rooms
The airport's ground-breaking ceremony will herald a new era for the island destination as a serious player in the real estate and tourism sectors.
Recently, two new resorts, The Grand Lagoi and Alila Villas Bintan broke ground in Lagoi Bay.
“Right now we have 1, 400 hotel rooms. With 500 new rooms, we are hoping to bring in 1 million tourists to Bintan Resorts in a year,” said Frans G Gunara, director at Bintan Resorts International Pte Ltd.
Gunara said Bintan Resorts is aiming to attract tourists from important markets such as China and India with a flying radius of about five hours.
The airport will feature basic and modest features, including one terminal building for a start, a 2.5km runway and ancillary facilities such as a control tower, fuel storage and a fire/rescue centre.
These infrastructures will enable the airport to accommodate planes like the Boeing 737s and Airbus 320s.
