Dubai Business Group Pledges to Build Resort and a Giant Mosque to Lure Middle East Passengers to Lombok.

(8/4/2007) Taj Hamaad, an Advisor to the Dubai-based Group Emaar International Properties, have confirmed that they will invest US$800 million in a new tourism resort development in Lombok, an island just east of Bali.

According to Hamaad, technical agreements and final a final memorandum of understanding (MOU) are now being hammered out prior to ground-breaking ceremonies planned for later this year.

Among the technical issues being resolved between Hamaad, Minister of Culture and Tourism Jero Wacik and the President's special envoy for eastern Indonesia Alwi Shihab are tax issues, investment licenses and land leases.

The Emaar Group has World-wide investments in various locales, including California and Malaysia, encompassing office buildings, resort and mall complexes.

The Lombok project will occupy a 1.175 hectare site in Central Lombok owned by the PT.Perusahaan Pengelola Asset - a state owned firm.

The government has pledges that they will support new tourism investment in Lombok through the construction of an international airport capable of handling wide-bodied aircraft. Development with a Middle Eastern Slant The Emaar Group have indicated that they will steer Middle Eastern visitors to the new resort development, diverting Emirate Airline passengers to Lombok once the airport is completed. Once landed in Lombok, the Middle-eastern passengers will be greeted by two purpose-built luxury resorts and a massive mosque, all built by the Dubai investor.

The Minister of Culture and Tourism, Jero Wacik, told the Indonesian-language Bisnis Indonesia: "I hope that by 2009 the airport and the resort will be finished and both operational. The investors are optimistic that Lombok will surpass the popularity of Bali offering a range of international facilities."

Source : (Lombok Times the 50th issues)

A MOU of the Lombok International Airport development has been signed by HL Wiratmaja – Central Lombok Regent and Bambang Sarwoto - Directur of PT Angkasa Pura I (PT. AP I) on 15 June 2007. According to Mr. Bambang Sarwoto airport construction is planned to be finished in 2009, being fully operational by 2010.

Mr. Bambang said that PT. AP I, the NTB Government and Central Lombok regency government take full responsibility in making the airport development venture a success. Each party will have their own duties and responsibilities in the Lombok International Airport development. The total funds stand at Rp 665 milliard. Rp 515 comes from the internal funding of PT AP I and will be used to develop main facilities, including the runway, airside, passengers' terminal and other supporting facilities. While Rp 110 Milliard of funds will be from the NTB government and will be used to develop taxiways, gates and infrastructure. Funding of Rp 40 milliard will come from the central Lombok government will be used to developed surrounding areas, including a park.

The Central Lombok Government also has the responsibility of providing the necessary infra structure, including clean water, telephones and electricity. Mr. HL Suprayatna – vice regent of central Lombok Regency - said that the government will try their best to support the development by providing all support needed. He said 'We all believe that the airport development will give many opportunities for work and business to the local people'. Ir Yudi Maisa MM - Technical Manager of Selaparang Airport and also Site Manager of Lombok Baru International Airport Development, also shared the same idea. Ir. Yudi said that PT. AP I will involve local people as much as possible on this project. It will also present the best supporter especially for the tourism sector.

The land clearing process still stands at 60% complete. It was scheduled to be finished last June but because of weather constraints (an unusual amount of rain in the last couple of months) it has been delayed. At least another four months will be needed to complete this phase of the project.

After the land clearing will be completed, the next plan is to build the run away. The contractor of the runway construction will be announced in the next couple weeks. A total f eight contractors have registered to get the project, one of them is a local contractor from NTB, one from Surabaya with the remaining hailing from Jakarta. The projected time needed to build a 2500m long and 45m wide runway, is two years.

Source : Lombok Times

3 government banks are ready to give fund for the development of Lombok international Airport, to change the existing Selaparang Airport, which the construction tender is held last March.

The financial director of PT.Angkasa Pura I Laurensius Manurung, said that those 3 banks declares their interest to join on funding of the Lombok International Airport development. Those 3 government banks are Bank Mandiri, BNI and BRI.

Lombok International Airport need as amount of 666 billion rupiah, and the fund source are from 3 party, they are West Nusa Tenggara government as amount of 110 billion rupiah, Central Lombok government as amount of 40 billion rupiah and from Angkasa Pura I as amount 515 billion rupiah. He said that his party is still considering the possibility to use the internal fund. " but we still counting for the possibility", said Laurensius.

Development of Lombok International Airport in Tanak Awu is done because the present Selaparang Airport is difficult to be extended because of the land limitation and wide plane can't landed.

Beside that, the passengers continuing to growth higher until 900.000 per year must be become a serious consideration for the airport management to find new location for developing the new airport which can give secure and good feeling for the passengers.

The airport will be build on the land of 538 hectare which targeted to be finish on 2009. This new airport were design for capacity until 1,5 million passengers.

Source : Bisnis Indonesia

Emaar Properties expands to Southeast Asia with AED 2.2 billion project in Indonesia's pristine Lombok Island.

Emaar Properties, the UAE-based global property developer, has expanded its geographic presence in to Southeast Asia with a mixed-use project in Central Lombok Island in Indonesia.

United Arab Emirates: Monday, April 30 - 2007 at 16:15

The development value of the project, spread over 1,200 hectares, is AED 2.2 billion (US$600 million; IDR 5446 billion). In the presence of Indonesian Vice President His Excellency Jusuf Kalla, Emaar Properties Chairman Mr Mohamed Ali Alabbar signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Mr Muhammad Syahrial, President Director, Perusahaan Pengelola Aset (PPA), the state-owned Asset Management Company.

'Indonesia is our sixteenth global market and the Lombok development will scale up our property portfolio to a wider Southeast Asian region,' said Mr Alabbar. 'The Lombok project also marks our consolidation of the property development roster by having world-class developments in emerging markets with high growth potential.'

He added: 'Lombok is one of the most promising tourism destinations in Indonesia and has the potential to be the magnet for world-travelers. We are thankful to the Indonesian Government for their trust in us to support their development initiatives that will help position Lombok on par with Bali as a world-class tourism destination.'

Emaar's Lombok project is set at the pristine Mandalika Beach and will be an environmentally-friendly development that integrates natural elements into a residential, leisure and hospitality zone. 'Eco-friendly measures will be adapted for the Lombok project to ensure that residents can enjoy the advantages of living in tune with nature,' said Mr Alabbar. 'The leisure spread will incorporate diving, snorkeling, hiking and surfing sports, for which Lombok is acclaimed globally.'

'Lombok has a long history of welcoming travelers from around the world, and tourism is the island's largest source of income,' said Mr Syahrial. 'Emaar's resort-cum-residential project will complement our efforts to further develop Lombok while maintaining its environmentally sound tourism growth initiatives.'

Emaar's Lombok project will have a 7 km natural waterfront, which will support a marina, apart from luxury residences and resorts by five-star hospitality chains. Emaar has already initiated the process of identifying five-star international resorts and hotel brands to be part of the development, which will also have a golf course and retail amenities. The homes will employ tropical designs and low-rise architecture in tune with the surroundings.

Emaar's global expansion to new and emerging markets is in line with its Vision 2010 to become one of the most valuable companies in the world through geographic expansion and business segmentation. Emaar already has a strong foothold in Southeast Asia, where it opened its first Emaar - Raffles International School in Singapore, which also marked the company's diversification into education.

Emaar, today, has an overseas development portfolio of over AED 220 billion (US$60 billion) and has a significant presence in the emerging markets in Middle East and North Africa, the Indian Subcontinent, the USA and Europe. In Dubai, its home-base, Emaar is developing Burj Dubai, on course to becoming the world's tallest tower, and The Dubai Mall, one of the world's largest shopping and entertainment destinations.

Source  : www.ameinfo.com