North Sumatra's Airport To Be Inaugurated Next March

Deli Serdang, North Sumatra, Dec 20 (ANTARA) - The Kuala Namu international airport in Deli Serdang district, North Sumatra province, is scheduled to be inaugurated in March 2013, according to airport project manager Joko Waskito. Speaking at the Sumatra Governors Coordination Meeting in Medan on Thursday, he expressed hope that the airport would be operational in time. According to Joko, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is scheduled to inaugurate the Kuala Namu airport in March next year. "The airport is 90 percent ready and the construction work is expected to be completed before March 2013," he noted. �The annual passenger capacity of the new airport is 8.1 million. Spread over an area of 1,365-hectares, the Kuala Namu airport will replace the Polonia International Airport in Medan, which has been operating over capacity. Situated in the heart of Medan, Polonia airport accommodated 6.2 million passengers last year, more than 563 percent of its rated capacity of 1.1 million people a year. The Kuala Namu airport will feature a 3,750-metre runway and 33 aprons. It will be equipped to accommodate wide-body aircraft such as the Airbus A380.