Along with the Airport area, The Bintan Aerospace Industry Park is a Free Trade Zone and Special Economic Zone, which is beneficial for the commercial operations of the aircraft industry in that area.
SINGAPORE – PT Garuda Indonesia (Persero) Tbk. , flag carrier of Indonesia, and Singapore based investment company, Gallant Venture on Tuesday 11/02, signed an MoU to develop Bintan Island into a tourism and aviation hub. Bintan Island is located in the Riau archipelago of Indonesia and is also close to Singapore. The MoU was signed by President and CEO of PT Garuda Indonesia Tbk, Mr. Emirsyah Satar and the CEO of Gallant Venture Ltd., Mr. Eugene Park at the Singapore Airshow 2014.
Through this strategic partnership, Garuda Indonesia and Gallant Venture will jointly develop Bintan Island as the airline’s new hub with a dedicated airport for Garuda and its subsidiary as well as a new centre for aircraft maintenance. Garuda Indonesia will also promote Bintan as an international tourism destination, and support to develop its connectivity both outbound and inbound.
“This new operation out of Bintan will help strengthen Garuda’s network development, with a potential to connect East Indonesia with West Indonesia and become the meeting point for our international flights to Europe and the Far East. With our regional fleet (CRJ Aircraft Series and ATR Aircraft Series) stationed in Bintan, Garuda will be able to be more competitive to service the second tier tourist and business destination cities within ASEAN,” said Satar.
The first phase will include the development of one runway and one terminal to accommodate initial traffic. Bintan Airport has enough land to develop into a multi terminal airport with two runways. The airport terminal will be connected to a ferry terminal which will service Singapore and Batam from /to the airport Bintan. Gallant Venture Ltd, through its subsidiary company, currently already operates ferry services between Bintan and Singapore Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal.
‘We want to develop Bintan as the choiced destination for travellers and extend our Bintan Industrial Estate into a world class centre for the aerospace industry. We are committed to invest providing the necessary infrastructure to serve the growing number of visitors to this island. We are extending our road network, power, portable water and telecom facilities to the new airport and its adjacent aerospace park. Our ferry connections to neighboring islands, including Singapore, will be enhanced so to ensure speedy services and quicker turnaround. At the same time, Garuda Indonesia’s operations and the aerospace industrial park in Bintan will boost the economy here and create substantial job opportunities as well as upgrading skill sets and standard of living for the people in the Riau Islands. Gallant Venture is committed to support Garuda, its alliance partners and the aerospace industry in Indonesia’ said Mr Eugene Park, CEO of Gallant Venture.
The Aircraft Maintenance Centre will be part of the 177 hectare Bintan Aerospace Industry Park located in the existing Bintan Industrial Estate adjacent to the runway of Bintan Airport. The Bintan Aerospace Industry Park will include Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) of aircraft and components; manufacturing and assembly of aircraft engines and components; aviation training and academy, and research & development. There will also be a dedicated township, including employee compound houses, dormitory, health centre, sports centre, convenient stores, to cater to the management and staff in Bintan Aerospace Industry Park.
The Subsidiary of Garuda Indonesia, PT Garuda Maintenance Facility AeroAsia (GMF AeroAsia) and Gallant Venture Ltd will set up a Joint Venture Company for the operations of Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) of aircraft and components at Bintan Aerospace Industry.
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