Speaking at the recent InternationalConference of Transportation Research and Innovation in Jakarta, he revealedthat the Indonesian government will develop the N219A amphibian to supporttourism, especially diving and surfing.
The float plane is capable of reachingsmall islands in Indonesia's archipelago.
The N219A is currently being developed byIndonesia’s National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN), PT DirgantaraIndonesia (PT DI) and the Agency for the Assessment and Application ofTechnology (BPPT).
Bambang said the government also has threeother transportation projects on the pipeline in the next five years, includingbuilding high-speed commuter trains that are made with 80 percent localcomponents; designing electric vehicles and manufacturing their lithiumbatteries locally; and building a tug boat that can run on biofuel.
In September, aircraft manufacturer PT DI announcedthat it will begin commercial production of its N-219 aircraft next year tomeet the growing demand for small airplanes both at home and overseas.
N-219 program manager Palmana Banandhi atPT DI said that the 19-seater transport aircraft was expected to enter themarket in 2020 at the initial price of 6 million USD per aircraft./.