DEN Chair Says IMIP Airport in Morowali Serves Only Domestic Flights, No Immigration Needed

December 1, 2025 | 05:42 pm

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Chair of Indonesia's National Economic Council (DEN), Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, spoke about the airport located within the PT Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP) complex in Morowali, Central Sulawesi.

Luhut admitted that he had approved the construction of the airport while serving as Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment. He granted the permission in a meeting with several relevant agencies.

Luhut said the airport was built to attract investors, as is common in countries such as Vietnam and Thailand. The airport in Morowali or Weda Bay is only used for domestic flights and has not been granted permission to operate as an international airport.

"The special airport is only designated to serve domestic flights and does not require customs or immigration according to the laws and regulations," said Luhut in a written statement on Monday, December 1, 2025. Airport facilities are considered normal as long as they comply with all regulations. Furthermore, the investment value in the Morowali industrial area has reached US$20 billion.

Furthermore, according to Luhut, attracting foreign investors is not easy. At that time, he claimed that only China was ready and able to meet Indonesia's needs for developing downstream industries.

He said that several conditions have been set for China to ensure the investments provide Indonesia with maximum benefits. These include the use of the best technology, the utilization of local labor, the development of integrated industries from upstream to downstream, as well as technology transfer and capacity building.

Furthermore, Luhut mentioned that the total investment value in downstream sectors has reached US$71 billion. "For Morowali alone, the value has reached more than US$20 billion, employing more than 100,000 workers, and significantly boosting the local economy up to this point."

Previously, the IMIP Airport came under scrutiny after several politicians stated that the facility was operating without involving government authorities. Member of the House Commission I (DPR), Oleh Soleh, for example, pointed out the absence of the state's oversight of the IMIP Airport area. According to Soleh, no government official, including aviation authorities, Customs, or Immigration, could enter the area.

However, the Ministry of Transportation denied that the airport in the nickel industry center was illegal. "It is registered; it is impossible for the airport not to be registered. Yesterday, we placed our personnel there," said Deputy Minister of Transportation Suntana at the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs office on November 26, 2025.

The Ministry of Transportation has also stationed personnel at the IMIP airport. The deployed team comes from various agencies, including the Directorate General of Customs, the police, and the Ministry of Transportation.

Ilona Estherina contributed to this article

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