Rokot Mentawai Airport Expected to Be Operational This Year

Rokot Mentawai Airport is set to be inaugurated this year. The construction of this new airport has been completed.

IDXChannel - Rokot Mentawai Airport is set to be inaugurated this year. The construction of this new airport has been completed.

"It is likely that next month the President will come here," said Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi in a written statement, Monday (14/8/2023).

According to him, Rokot Mentawai Airport will replace the old airport, namely Rokot Sipora Airport.

 "I carry out President Joko Widodo's directives to oversee connectivity improvement activities, especially in frontier regions such as Mentawai," said the Minister of Transportation.
 
The new airport has a runway length of 1,500 x 30 meters, so that it can accommodate larger aircraft such as ATR 72-600 that has a maximum capacity of 78 passengers.  

With a runway length of 850 x 23 meters, the old airport can only accomodate small aircraft such as Cessna Grand Caravan that has  a capacity of 12 people.
 
The Minister of Transportation hopes that the presence of the new airport can increase the number of visitors, especially tourists, to come to Mentawai.
 
 "Mentawai is also a tourist destination and is famous for its waves which are admired by surfers," he said. (WHY)