House member suggests int'l airport to be built in Tanjung

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Deputy Chair of the House of Representative's (DPR's) Commission V H Syaifullah Tamliha suggested that a land should be prepared in Kambitin Village, Tanjung, Tabalong District, South Kalimantan, to build a capacious international airport.

From the meeting room of the House's Commission V at the Nusantara Building, Senayan, Jakarta, he said that the international airport is to prop up the new national capital (IKN) of Nusantara in North Penajam Paser, East Kalimantan.

"If only we rely on Sultan Aji Muhammad Sulaiman International Airport, Sepinggan, Balikpapan, and Syamsudin Noor Banjarmasin International Airport in Banjarbaru, they are no longer representative due to limited land,” said the House member from PPP faction, Monday (April 4, 2022).

He desribed the Kambitin position as very feasible to build an international airport to support IKN Nusantara, and said Tabalong as a golden triangle which is the intersection of three provinces, south, central, and east Kalimantan.

Facing IKN Nusantara, he pointed out, a representative and multifunctional airport is needed for international flight as well as air base for IKN security.

"It is impossible to solely rely on Syamsudin Noor and Balikpapan Air Base,” said the people representative from the electoral district of South Kalimantan 1, who also chair of the central executive of PPP for OKK (Membership Cadreization Organization).

According to him, Kambitin is very suitable for the future to build a multifunctional international airport, all at once air base, to accomodate wide aircrafts and TNI aircraft fighter.

Especially it close position is more possible to protect IKN Nusantara from possible attact from other countries.

Whereas, East Kalimantan is directly adjacent  to neighboring Malaysia, especially Serawak and Sabah as well as Brunei Darussalam. Including, the power of China which is now concentrating in the South China Sea.

"With Tabalong's position, especially Kambitin, which close to South and Central Kalimantan, it certainly makes it easier for people to access this international airport," he said.

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Besides, from the historical point of view, Japan in the past wanted to build airport in Kambitin, and this will be a source of happiness and pride for the people of South Kalimantan that they have an airport that has been dreamed of since the Japanese colonial era.

Syaifullah Tamliha himself is known to be close to Head of the National Planning and Development Agency (Bappenas)/National Development Planning Minister Suharso Monoarfa, so this proposal is expected to be realized in term of development of national strategic areas in the future.

It turned out that Syaifullah Tamliha's proposal was responded by the Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi. He assured that in the future national strategic program will focus on international airport and seaport.

Concerning seaport, the former member of the House's Commission I proposed that Swarangan Harbor in Jorong, Tanah Laut District, as an international seaport for the reason that it is in the deep sea.

“South Kalimantan can no longer rely on Banjarmasin's Trisakti Port, that continually must be maintained and the Barito River channel to be dredged as shipping route. The best option is to make Swarangan Port as an international ocean port,” he said.

He is very confident with its geographical condition that Swarangan Port in Jorong will be able to harbor large international ships and fuel tankers from all over the world.