Investors invited to develop airports in Lampung, Bengkulu, Jayapura

The Transportation Ministry has invited private companies to participate in the development of at least three airports in Lampung, Bengkulu and Jayapura in Papua to help improve the performance of existing airports.

State-owned construction companies will be tasked with building the runways and terminals, but the government is also open to having private companies play a role in the projects. Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said in Jakarta on Tuesday.

“State-owned enterprises and the government want to improve the services in the transportation sector,” he said as reported by kontan.co.id.

He did not reveal the value of each project, saying only that all three will commence in 2019.

The minister did emphasize that the involvement of private companies was important because the government would not be tapping into the state budget for the endeavor.

In addition to airports, the government is also offering up at least 10 seaport projects that will be implemented over the next 20 years, he added.

The development of transportation infrastructure in many parts of the country is part of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s vision to improve connectivity among regions, support the tourism industry and reduce transportation costs.