"Six years ago, I moved from Bantarjati village to Sukamulya. My former land is now being used in the airport construction," he said at the end of March 2018.
When he was evicted from his land, where the airport now stands, he received Rp 147 million in compensation for two houses on a 560-square-meter plot.
Jumantara was unable to obtain the same size of land in Sukamulya with the money he received. The compensation money was enough to buy only 280 sqm of land, half of the land he had formerly owned. "There was not enough left to build a house. I had to borrow Rp 30 million from a neighbor," he said quietly.
Although he had previously worked as an independent farmer, Jumantara has had to become a farm laborer in Sukamulya for a daily wage of Rp 80,000. "Fortunately, the land here is fertile. Rice can be planted twice a year and food crops once a year. A farm laborer like me will have lots of work," he said.
Sukamulya is 35 kilometers from downtown Majalengka. The village produces about 7 tons of rice per hectare annually. The village is also a red chili cultivation center, with an average annual production of 8.7 tons per hectare.
However, Jumantara\'s new home and livelihood will soon become history. The 740-hectare Sukamulya village will soon be acquired to expand the new airport to meet its target of 1,800 hectares.
Sukamulya is the last village to be acquired for the airport’s development, following the acquisition of Bantarjati, Sukakerta, Kertajati and Kertasari. Thousands of families have been evicted from their lands for the airport. According to Sukamulya’s village records, about 1,000 people live in and around the site of the airport’s planned development.
"I cannot imagine having to move again. The land I bought was Rp 50,000 per square meter. Today, land outside the village costs Rp 6 million for 14 square meters," said Jumantara.
In fact, 90 percent of the local villagers are farmers. "After the airport is completed, I do not know what I will do. All I know is farming," said Jumantara, an elementary school graduate.
"The people do not oppose the construction of the airport. Only, there must be some guarantee for a better life if we have to move and hand over our lands," said Herry Susana Kalangi, 70, a community figure.
Kertajati village secretary Wawan Wirawan said that the development of the international airport had a tangible economic impact. The village residents were able to provide rental rooms and open food stalls for the construction workers involved in the airport project. However, these would all likely disappear when the airport project was finished.
New jobs
On the other hand, some residents have met with luck in the development of the new international airport. At least 140 people have been hired to work at the airport as security guards, airport traffic controllers and even information guides.
One of these is Ade Fikriana, 21, a resident of Cidulang village in Cikijing district, Majalengka. Ade was hired as an airport flight security officer. His main job is to ensure aviation and passenger safety on land and during a flight.
"I am very proud. The recruitment was in mid-2017. Out of 7,000 people who applied, only 46 were accepted," the vocational school graduate said on Tuesday (3/4).
Ade, along with the 45 other new hires, attended the airport education and training course for a month at the Indonesian Aviation School in Curug, Tangerang, Banten.
The Majalengka administration has also benefited from the new airport. The city\'s Integrated Licensure and Investment Office noted that it had received investment proposals from 38 companies in 2017.
One of these was an export footwear company. The office’s management and reporting head, Entang Sukarna, said the footwear company had a US$8 million investment commitment and targeted employment of 5,000 workers. The investors were attracted to the monthly minimum wage in Majalengka, which was relatively low at Rp 1.6 million, much lower than the monthly minimum wage of Rp 3.9 million in Bekasi, a major manufacturing center.
According to Entang, the opportunity for new jobs was expected to absorb 154,989 workers in the first phase of the airport’s construction. This would expand to 399,680 workers at the peak of its development stage.
"I have many friends in Kertajati. We have worked here for three months," said Fikri Hadi Brata, 19, a graduate of SMKN 1 Maja state vocational school who now works as an airport security officer.
Local entrepreneurs can take advantage of the business activities generated as a result of the new airport. President director Virda Dimas Ekaputra of provincial developer West Java International Airport (PT BIJB) said the airport provided land for the development of two-, three- and four-star hotels.
The West Java-owned PT BIJB will build a three-star hotel, while two other hotel projects are being offered to investors under a “build, use, handover” scheme of a maximum 30 years.
Less than three months since its inauguration by President Joko Widodo, the Hotel Fitra is still the only star-rated hotel in Majalengka, located about 30 km from the airport. The three-star hotel, which was inaugurated in October 2017, has 113 rooms. Near the Hotel Fitra is a non-starred hotel. Two weeks ago, the hotel was filled to capacity, and the crew and band members of a dangdut artist from the provincial capital had taken over the hotel\'s front lawn.
Hotel Fitra sales executive Criesta Oktarina Kurniawan Mas\'an was optimistic that the hotel would be the main accommodation until the new airport opened its doors. Its rivals in the hospitality industry would not be able to easily or quickly build other hotels in the area.
Virda said that the new airport would be the first airport in the country with an integrated aerocity of 3,480 hectares. Based on a 21st-century development concept, the airport will be surrounded by residential complexes and a technology and logistics hub. Meanwhile, the airport will be accessible by rail, the development for which a 2 ha plot in front of the airport terminal has been reserved.
In the hustle and bustle of the airport’s development, it can only be hoped that the displaced and marginalized will gain the attention they need and deserve to pursue better lives.
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