Development of the beautiful island of Lombok, located just minutes to the east of Bali, has for years been hampered by the lack of easy access for travel.
Although Lombok is well served by domestic flights from all major Indonesian airports, such as Jakarta, Bali and Surabaya, international visitors usually have to fly into Bali or one of the other capitals before catching connecting flights to Lombok.
International flights to the island are currently served by two airlines; with Singapore Airlines subsidiary, Silk Air, providing direct flights from Singapore and Merpati Airlines flying to and from Kuala Lumpur, via a short transit in Surabaya.
All this means that the development of Lombok tourism has been largely dependent on attracting tourists from Bali, and Lombok is often seen as an add-on or side trip with Bali as the main destination. All this is set to change with the much-anticipated construction of an international airport in Lombok.
Talk of an international airport for Lombok has been circulating for almost twenty years, when the first plans were announced by the then Suharto government. Large tracts of land were acquired in central Lombok and the Lombok Tourism Development Corp was nominated to oversee the project. Disputes with the traditional land-owners, bungling by local authorities, allegations of rampant corruption and the eventual collapse of the Suharto regime saw the airport plans shelved.
But plans for an international airport never went away. Investors, government and tourism industry stakeholders have always known that the only way to develop Lombok as a tourism destination in its own right is to have an international airport; providing easy access to the island and removing Lombok’s dependence on Bali for visitors.
Fast forward to 2008 and an Indonesian government led by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, spurred on by then Vice President Jusuf Kalla, who had long ago recognised Lombok’s beauty and potential as a tourism destination to rival Bali. It was Kalla who first resurrected the plans for an international airport and, working with Lombok’s previous Governor, Lalu Serinata, pushed the dream forward.
Despite Jusuf Kalla’s defeat in the elections this year, the Indonesian government and Lombok’s regional government, headed by new Governor, Zainul Majdi are committed to providing Lombok with an international airport. The foundation stone that marked the start of the runway construction was laid on 19 January 2008 and, although many scoffed at the plans as being “pie in the sky”, the airport is well on the way to becoming reality.
When I visited the airport site in Tanak Awu, Central Lombok, last week it was obvious that the doubters, probably tired of hearing about airport plans for years, are about to be proved wrong. As reported by the local government recently, the runway is indeed complete; even the additional 250 metres of runway that was added onto the original plan of 2500 metres in June of this year.
The terminal building, with a stylish design similar to that of the Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport opened in Makassar in mid 2008, is currently being constructed, as are access roads, large parking areas and foundations for the hangars.
Admittedly progress has been slow, but the entire 538.8 hectare area in the small rural village is now a busy hive of activity and it’s hard to imagine anything stopping a project that is already so far along.
The government and local media report that construction will be complete in late 2009 and the airport operational by late 2010. However, an international airport is more than just a runway and a terminal, and important infrastructure such as emergency services, electricity supply and access roads still need to be in place before the airport can start hosting international flights. A more realistic prediction would be that the airport will be completed by the middle of next year and commence operating some time in 2011.
What is important is that Lombok will have its international airport at last… and that is going to change the entire future direction of this island often referred to as “Indonesia’s secret paradise”.
