Public ownership of infrastructure in the eastern part of Indonesia has moved a step forward with agreement by US-owned gold and copper mining company Freeport Indonesia to hand over management of its Mozes Kilangin Airport in Mimika district, Papua province, to the Indonesian government.

The deal to put the airport in public hands was signed in Jakarta on Thursday by representatives from Freeport, the Mimika district government and the Transportation Ministry.

Herry Bakti S. Gumay, the ministry's director general for air transportation, said the development would allow the government to better service the country's easternmost districts. "We welcome this and hope [improvements] will be finalized within the next one or two years, so that the airport can be immediately be used to serve the larger public," Herry said.

Freeport Indonesia managing director Rozik B. Soetjipto said the company had agreed to the deal because it recognized the rapidly growing need for transportation to the Mimika area.

The airport was built at Timika, now the capital of Mimika, by Freeport in 1970 to serve its Grasberg mine in nearby Tembagapura. However, in recent years, it has also been utilized as a stopoff by general commercial flights headed from Denpasar to Jayapura's Sentani Airport. The airport reportedly serves an average of 200,000 passengers per year.

With the signing of the deal, management of the airport will be taken over by the public airport management unit, which will develop it to better support the local economy. It is expected the airport will focus on trade and tourism facilitation, and be expanded into a hub that connects the rest of the Indonesian archipelago with Mimika district.

Herry said that despite being put into public hands, the airport would still provide special facilities for Freeport.

"We want this to be turned into a public airport, but later there will be a special terminal for Freeport," he said as quoted by Detik.com. "So Terminal 1 will be for the public while Terminal 2 will be for Freeport."

Herry said with sufficient funds, the developments could be finalized soon. "If the budget is there and everything goes well, then it can be done in one year," he said.

He added that funds would be provided from the national and regional budgets, in addition to a contribution from Freeport as part of its ongoing corporate social responsibility programs.

Abdul Muis, the Mimika district chief, said upgrades to the airport had long been awaited by the people of Timika and that he hoped construction would soon begin. "The people of Timika have been waiting for this, hopefully it will come through," he said.