"After studies for years, the government has decided to build an airport in Kediri, beating seven other districts," the minister told the press here Saturday.
The minister was in Kediri, East Java Province, to hold a dialog with local inhabitants concerning the government's plan to construct the international airport.
Among those present at the dialog were Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut B Panjaitan, Agrarian and Spatial Planning Minister/Head of the National Agrarian Agency (ATR/BPN) Sofyan Djalil, Village, Least Developed Region and Transmigration Minister Eko Putro Sandjojo, East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa, and Kediri District Head Haryanti Sutrisno.
The government needed the backing of the inhabitants there for the construction of the airport to proceed without any hitch, the transportation minister told the audience.
He was upbeat that the presence of an international airport in Kediri will provide economic benefits to Kediri and its surrounding districts.
The presence of the airport will also bring tourists, provide job opportunities and better access to Kediri residents who wish to travel, Sumadi said.
The minister cited Kulon Progo Yogyakarta Airport as an example of how the construction of an airport has created a lot of jobs for inhabitants.
