The Transfer Of Managing Halim Airport To Private Party Must Be With The Approval Of Minister Of Finance Sri Mulyani

Halim Perdanakusuma Airport Gate, East Jakarta. (Wikimedia Commons)

JAKARTA - Halim Perdanakusuma Airport will reopen for commercial flights in September following a massive revitalization. However, the plan was marked by the emergence of a management polemic between the Indonesian Air Force, PT Angkasa Pura II, and PT Angkasa Transportindo Selaras (ATS).

The Ministry of Finance also spoke about this. The Director of State Wealth Policy Formulation at the Ministry of Finance, Encep Sudarman, explained that basically the transfer of management of Halim Perdanakusuma Airport to any party, including the private sector, must be approved by the Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani.

Encep said Halim Perdanakusuma Airport is a state property or BMN that was given to the Ministry of Defense for use. In this case, the use by the Ministry of Defense is carried out through the Air Force.

Therefore, continued Encep, as an SOE (BUMN), Halim Perdanakusuma Airport can be collaborated with the private sector and BUMN, but with a note that the user has the right to make an agreement, namely the Ministry of Defense with prior approval from the Minister of Finance.

"In principle, the use of BMN must be in accordance with the approval of the Minister of Finance as the manager of goods. Ministry towers or other institutions have the status of finished goods users with approval from the Ministry of Finance in the DJKN section," he said in a virtual discussion, quoted on Saturday, July 23.

Encep said the layoffs had learned about the transfer of management of Halim Perdanakusuma Airport to the private sector. Therefore, the Ministry of Finance will soon hold a meeting with related parties.

"So regarding this problem, there is a slight miss. We want to have a meeting first, we hear a lot in the media, we will have a meeting with them first to see what the problem is," he said.

For your information, Halim Perdanakusuma Airport is one of the state assets whose management is generally handed over to the Directorate General of State Assets (DJKN), Ministry of Finance.

In managing the airport, the DJKN then handed over the usage status to the Ministry of Defense to then be handled technically by the Indonesian Air Force (TNI AU).

On the way, the control of Halim Airport encountered problems because the Indonesian Air Force was said to have agreed to provide the management of this transportation facility to PT Angkasa Transportindo Selaras (ATS), which is a subsidiary of the Lion Group.

The entry of ATS is planned to replace the duties of PT Angkasa Pura II as the operator of Halim Perdanakusuma Airport so far. However, the agreement between the Indonesian Air Force and Lion Air since 2004 has not been realized to this day.