Faisal Basri Calls Kertajati Airport Suitable For Cattle Warehouse, Erick Thohir: This Is Not A Waste Of Money Project, It Just Takes Time

Minister of SOEs, Erick Thohir. (Photo: Doc. Ministry of SOEs)

JAKARTA - University of Indonesia (UI) senior economist, Faisal Basri, criticized some transportation infrastructure projects built by the government. According to Faisal, these infrastructure projects are a waste.

One of them is Kertajati Airport. Faisal believes that the airport is better off being converted into a livestock warehouse because there are no flights.

Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN), Erick Thohir, spoke about Kertajati Airport which was empty of flights. According to him, the infrastructure project had been planned long before he served as minister.

Even so, Erick said that now is no longer the right time to judge who is right and who is wrong, but how to improve what is. According to him, the construction of Kertajadi Airport should not be seen in pieces but based on a large ecosystem.

Furthermore, Erick said that Kertajati Airport was built because so far airports in West Java are still using an airport owned by the Indonesian Air Force. The presence of Kertajati Airport is also an effort to facilitate connectivity in the West Java region.

"If we look at the airport now, it's still using an airport owned by the air force and in the middle of the city, then if we also look at connectivity to West Java by toll roads, it's quite helpful. But others are still not optimal, even though West Java is an industrial center Indonesia, whether automotive or anything else, in West Java, textiles, various things", he said at the Kick Andy Show, quoted Thursday, November 18.

Furthermore, Erick admitted that he did not want to defend himself. However, he considered that the Kertajati Airport project does need time to operate properly as expected. Moreover, so far the ecosystem regarding logistics services, both air, sea, and others, has never been considered in a big way.

"I see again that this is not a waste of money project but it takes time", he said.

Erick said that the government in this case the Ministry of SOEs only has a 15 percent stake in the Kertajati Airport project. Meanwhile, the majority share is owned by the West Java provincial government.

"What is dancing about the development of Kertajati is not dominated by SOEs. SOEs only have 15 percent, the majority in the West Java regional government. This means that this is given the opportunity for the regions to develop", he said.

Furthermore, Erick admitted that together with the Governor of West Java, Ridwan Kamil, they were trying to find a solution so that Kertajati Airport would no longer be lonely. In fact, in Dubai, he and Ridwan Kamil also promoted investment from the ecosystem in West Java called Aero City. Where in Aero City there is not only an airport but also an industrial area.

"In this industrial area, SOEs also have a role. Why? We have 1,600 hectares of land in Subang which we are opening up to be used as special economic zones like in Batang. Where Batang is successful now, Batang is in group 1, where 400 hectares of land have been exhausted. Because of investment from Korea. So, in Subang, we have to think about the port, airport, cargo, etc., we are still doing", he said.

Erick also mentioned the Patimban Port which is considered far from being burnt. He said that the composition of BUMN's share ownership was only 10 percent. Meanwhile, 90 percent of the majority shares are owned by the private sector and investors from Japan.

According to Erick, the quietness of the Patimban Port is also due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. So that Patimban Port has not operated optimally.

Therefore, according to him, it is irrelevant if the presence of BUMN in the project is questioned. Because his party only carries out one of the functions of BUMN is public service.

"Yes, it's irrelevant, but owning shares, owning them. For what reason? Today it's back again that SOEs are not only corporations but also public services", he explained.

Kertajati Airport is quiet

Previously, University of Indonesia (UI) senior economist Faisal Basri criticized some transportation infrastructure projects built by the government. According to Faisal, these infrastructure projects are a waste. The projects in question are airports (airports), ports and high-speed trains.

Faisal said the infrastructure projects were considered redundant because they would not be profitable but the investment was very large. Therefore, he considered, the current government is very wasteful, it can even lead to state bankruptcy.

"The project was built that is not chaotic", he said in a virtual discussion, Wednesday, October 13.

The first project in the spotlight is Kertajati Airport. As is known, the government will make Kertajati Airport in Majalengka, West Java, an aircraft maintenance area, namely maintenance, repair, overhaul, or MRO aka aircraft repair shop. Later, the facility will be open to aircraft from government agencies, the Army and Police, as well as the private sector.

Previously, the plan for Kertajati Airport to become an aircraft repair shop, this airport had seized the public's attention. Because, Kertajati Airport was built with a high investment value, which reached IDR 2.6 trillion.

This fund disbursement is to support the construction of the airport, which has a runway of 3,000 meters with a passenger capacity of 29 million people.

In terms of area, Kertajati Airport is the second largest airport in Indonesia after Soekarno Hatta International Airport. Unfortunately, once the airport was finished, the conditions were deserted. In January-September 2020, for example, the number of passengers was only 42,400 people, down 82 percent from 243,756 people in the same period the previous year.

The realization is far from fire with a target of around 2.7 million passengers when it is already operating. The number is also not comparable to other airports.