Improve Infrastructure, Ministry of Transportation Support Lake Toba Tourism

INDUSTRY.co.id - Toba - Ministry of Transportation (Kemenhub) supports the development of Lake Toba in North Sumatra as a world tourism destination by building a number of infrastructure.

Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi in Port Maros, Lake Toba, North Tapanuli, North Sumatera Province (14/10/2017) said it is developing airports, ships and docks to support Lake Toba tourism.

"In accordance with the instructions of President Joko Widodo, we are doing 'improvement' infrastructure to support tourism Lake Toba," he said.

According to him, on October 28, 2017, Silangit Airport will become an international airport by serving flights directly from Singapore.

Silangit Airport is only about 20 km from Lake Toba.

Increasing the status of Silangit Airport will further make foreign tourists come to Lake Toba.

Currently, Silangit Airport already has four airlines that perform regular flights namely Garuda Indonesia, Sriwijaya, Susi Air, and Wings Air.

On October 28, 2017, Citilink airline plans to conduct regular flights.

Silangit Airport will have a new terminal of 3,000 m2 and runway with a length of 2,650 meters and a width of 45 meters.

Minister of Transportation also said that his side is building two ferry boats type roro and five piers to support community mobility as well as tourism in Lake Toba.

"Lake Toba is extraordinarily beautiful, so it must be supported by adequate infrastructure," he said.

Budi continued at this time, already available three roro ships consisting of two from Kemenhub and one from PT ASDP Indonesia Ferry, which serves the crossing at Lake Toba.

"With the construction of two more, then there are five boats that are ready to serve the community including tourists," he said.

The two roro boats being built by Kemenhub are 48.5 meters long and 12.6 meters wide.

The vessel with a capacity of 300 gross tonnage (GT) is able to accommodate 280 passengers and 32 four-wheeled vehicles.

"If the new vessel has been operated, then the departure schedule of the previous ship could be more than one hour to be only 15 minutes," said Minister of Transportation.

Meanwhile, from the construction of five docks, two of them are on Samosir Island and three others on the outskirts of Lake Toba.

"The addition of five ships and five dock facilities will facilitate connectivity of citizens and also tourists enjoy the beauty of Lake Toba is extraordinary," said Budi.