New airport for Jakarta rejected over safety issues

Plans put forward for a new four-runway airport at Lebak, in Banten Province, which is near Jakarta, have been rejected by the Indonesian Ministry of Transport (MOT) after a year-long consultation.
The plans had been submitted by the Lion Group and property developer PT Maja Raya Semestra (MRIS) for the development of a 4,000 hectare site at Curugbitoung, Lebak. The proposal was for an airport capable of handling wide-body jets and 100 million passengers.
MOT spokesperson Novie Riyanto made it clear the proposal was rejected on both safety and financial grounds. “This decision [not to grant permission] is final,” he stated. “In principle, the proposal … can’t be accepted.”
The principal problem would appear to be that the airport’s activities would impinge on existing air traffic in the area coming from Soekarno-Hatta International and low-cost hub Halim Airport, some 70 miles to the north-east of the proposed site, and at a local flying school at Budiarto Airport. The MOT also added that broader airspace congestion was also a factor.
“So from a safety perspective, Lebak’s plans to offer commercial services cannot be allowed to proceed,” Agus Santoso, MOT airports director, confirmed adding “the proposal still does not meet minimum safety requirements,” despite the fact that a good number of updates to the original design that made changes to both runway facilities and terminal locations were proposed.