New Indonesian Airport Will Provide Access to Singapore
Construction is under way of a new airport on Bintan Island in the Riau archipelago that will offer an alternative to the 45-minute ferry link from Singapore. Scheduled to open in mid-2015, the $79 million facility will accommodate aircraft such as the Boeing 737 and Airbus 320 which have an operational radius of around five hours, putting most ASEAN countries, as well as South China and South India, within reach.
The airport will initially serve mainly domestic routes, chartered flights from regional cities and private planes. A further phase of development will see the airport’s capacity raised to handle aircraft with an operational radius of more than seven hours. Bintan Island is currently served by Raja Haji Fisabilillah International Airport located in the Riau Islands’ capital city of Tanjung Pinang.
