State-owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura II (AP II) kicked off the much-anticipated Husein Sastranegara Airport expansion project in Bandung, West Java, on Monday in a bid to cater more airline passengers.

“We want to make Husein Sastranegara Airport an icon in Bandung as well as improve our services to passengers,” AP II president director Tri S. Sunoko said on Monday.

With an Rp 139 billion (US$11.39 million) investment, he said the company would expand the existing terminal building from 5,000 to 17,000 square meters.

This renovation would increase the airport’s annual passenger capacity from 750,000 people to 3.4 million.

“The passenger traffic passing through the airport stood at 2.46 million throughout 2013, which means we are operating at overcapacity,” he added.

To boost revenues, the firm is also developing a 2,500 square-meter plot of land for commercial use.

The expansion project is expected to finish by the end of 2015.

Moreover, the airport’s general manager, Yayan Hendrayani, said the company predicted that the number of air travelers flying from and to the airport would reach 3.08 million passengers by the end of 2014.

Besides national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia and the country’s largest low-cost carrier, Lion Air, he said that Citilink, AirAsia Indonesia, Express Air, Wings Air, Susi Air and Tiger Air were flying to Bandung, connecting the city with major cities in Indonesia and ASEAN.

“We hope that with the expansion we’ll be able to provide optimum services to passengers,” Yayan said.

Editor: Edy Can