Mapping every airport in Indonesia

The Future Southeast Asia Newsletter features transport and urban development news in Southeast Asia, edited by James Clark.

Hello from Ho Chi Minh City! It’s good to be back in one of my unofficial home bases. There is still no metro yet, but they are aiming for a 22 December opening.

If you have been following Future Southeast Asia for a while, you have probably noticed the heavy skew towards railways. I’m now working my way through the airports of Southeast Asia.

After the ease of compiling the Cambodia airports page, the Indonesia page was a beast to compile. I’ve made a map of every civilian airport, and in the process, I learnt a lot about the islands of Indonesia. It has also given me some ideas for where to go next year. The map is linked in the latest post section.

Follow Future Southeast Asia on Bluesky

Future Southeast Asia now has an official Bluesky account:

@futuresoutheastasia.com

I haven’t posted on Twitter/X for nearly two years, but there hasn’t been a suitable alternative until now. There is now momentum behind Bluesky, and I am starting to see familiar faces from the old Twitter days. I am waiting for a few more Southeast Asia newsletter publishers to join so I can create a list. If you are a newsletter publisher, let me know when you have joined!

I will be posting news links on this account and new post updates. I also have a personal account at @nomadicnotes.bsky.social where I post travel and other general content.

Latest posts at Future Southeast Asia

• Airports in Indonesia: Map of every commercial airport

This guide is a list and map of current and future airports in Indonesia.

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News

• Grab built its own map in Southeast Asia, and is now going after Google 

“The super-app uses its own drivers and cameras to create hyperlocal maps in eight countries.”

🇰🇭 Cambodia

• $10 billion railway development plan to drive economic growth

"As part of its efforts to enhance the transportation sector and drive economic growth, the Cambodian government is rolling out plans for the development of eight major railway projects, with a projected total investment of over $10 billion."

• Cambodia needs $36B for large scale infra development

🇮🇩 Indonesia

• IKN not yet feasible as capital city, law minister says

• Autonomous Rail Transit Train in IKN to be Returned to China, Ministry Says

• Prabowo’s directive halts major infrastructure projects

• ‘A new Singapore or Hong Kong’? Indonesia to build Bali’s second airport amid scepticism (archive)

"Joint development between local and Chinese firm, which is investing US$3 billion, has support of President Prabowo, but some Balinese are unimpressed."

• Deputy Minister of Transportation says Jakarta-Surabaya high-speed ​​train still under feasibility study

🇱🇦 Laos

• Help Laos have its own sea and port, connect railways and roads to integrate internationally and develop an independent economy.

"Besides promoting cooperation in investment, trade, education, etc., Vietnam's strategic view is to help Laos "have its own sea and port", followed by railways and roads to open up international integration and develop an independent economy."

🇲🇾 Malaysia

• Construction of MRT3 project may only start in 2027, says MRT Corp

• Govt agrees to RM442.3mil upgrade for Kota Kinabalu airport

• 'Trans-Borneo Railway project feasibility study will take 12 months'

• Sarawak - Sabah talks on routes for Trans Borneo Railway

"Sarawak Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hassan said the proposed railway link is going to be one of the biggest railway projects in Asean."

• MOT ready to study feasibility of reintroducing Rantau Panjang-Golok railway service

• Plan to rent out Bandar Malaysia land

• Position Labuan like Dubai: Harris

“Labuan should be positioned as a duty-free haven like Dubai, catering to tourists before they enter other states of Borneo and when they depart on their return flights, said former Chief Minister Tan Sri Harris Salleh.”

• Kelantan estimates RM445m needed for land to build border wall with Thailand, block out crime and floods…and to stop young Malaysians sneaking into Thailand for wild nights out.

 🇵🇭 Philippines

• Marcos opens LRT-1 Cavite extension's first 5 stations

• DOTr: Right-of-way behind lack of direct link from new LRT-1 station to NAIA

• Groundbreaking for MRT-4 seen as early as first quarter

• NAIA operator to complete Terminal 5 in three years

• NNIC plans Philippine Village Hotel demolition for NAIA terminal extension

• JV Ejercito seeks more funding for DOTr's priority rail projects

• Gov’t wants private sector in building Mindanao’s railway

• MCWD: Cebu City’s freshwater faces growing saltwater contamination

🇸🇬 Singapore

• Marina Bay Sands eyes Singapore’s largest loan of $12 billion

• CapitaSpring Tower, designed by BIG and CRA, wins the International High-Rise Award 2024/25

🇹🇭 Thailand

• Xi urges faster China-Thailand Railway work, broader cooperation with Thais

• AOT eyes increasing Suvarnabhumi’s transit flights

"Plan is to have transit flights make up 20% of all flights and turn Thailand’s main international airport into a major aviation hub."

• Bangkok traffic alert as construction starts

"Motorists have been warned to expect heavy traffic congestion as the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) will close and demolish three key traffic flyovers during construction of the Orange Line electric train route, which starts on Friday."

• Second Sungai Golok bridge: Thailand to finalise cost, design next month

🇻🇳 Vietnam

• Hanoi's metro line to connect city with airport

"Hanoi has announced a plan for the construction of Urban Railway Line 2, which will run from Tran Hung Dao street in the centre of the city to the outlying district of Soc Son."

• President Xi Jinping hastens construction of 3 Vietnam-China rail routes

• Central Vietnam hub Danang seeks investment for urban railway airport link

"Under the masterplan, the central city aims to develop two MRT (mass rapid transit) lines and two LRT (light rail transit) routes by 2030, followed by another four LRT lines and one BRT (bus rapid transit) route by 2045."

• Hanoi initiates plan to phase out motorcycles in inner city

• PM approves increased funding for dilapidated housing eradication

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