REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAMBI -- The country's airports should be integrated with other modes of transportation to facilitate the public to reach their destinations, according to President Joko Widodo (Jokowi).

"I urge that every airport should be integrated with other modes of transportation, such as trains, LRT (light rail transit), or buses, so the public will have more options and alternatives. The government should offer such options to the public," President Jokowi stated while inaugurating a new terminal of the Sultan Thaha Airport, here, Thursday.

The Sultan Thaha Airport should also have such forms of connectivity, he noted.

The president called for small airports in Muara Bungo and Kerinci, both located in Jambi Province, to be expanded, the work for which should be completed in 2017.

Once the work is completed, large bodied aircraft would be able to land at the Sultan Thaha Airport, and passengers would be able to proceed to the Muara Bungo Airport aboard smaller aircraft.

The Sultan Thaha Airport will serve as a pilot project for the development of small airports by the government, as there is need for further expansion, remarked Jokowi.

Airports, with adequate capacity, will accelerate mobility, transportation, and the movement of cargo and finally improve efficiency, which is crucial in the competitive era, he remarked.

Transportation Minister Ignasius Johan noted that the government had spent Rp236 billion for the expansion of the Sultan Thaha Airport that has a capacity to accommodate 1.6 million passengers and has a 12 thousand square-meter large terminal.

"The apron has been expanded to upgrade the earlier capacity of accommodating five medium-class aircraft to seven aircraft," the minister added.

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