Indonesia’s biggest airport operator looks to cargo amid slump

Indonesia’s largest airport operator is pushing ahead with the construction of a new goods-handling facility in Jakarta, betting the movement of cargo will help an industry laid to waste by the reduction in passenger flights. PT Angkasa Pura II predicts cargo traffic at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta airport will rise to 1 million tons a year from 600,000 tons currently within the next three years. It’s calling upon third parties that are interested in investing alongside it to submit proposals in the fourth quarter. The total investment is “estimated to be 7.5 trillion to 8 trillion rupiah ($545 million),” President Director Muhammad Awaluddin said in an interview. “We have a lot of interest in the project.”Garuda Indonesia will also help develop the facility, he said. The goods-handling depot is going ahead even though Angkasa Pura is on a mission to conserve cash. The company plans to reduce capital spending by as much as 90% this year to around 712b rupiah.<br/>