Garuda Indonesia (GA, Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Singapore's Gallant Venture to develop both an airport and an MRO facility in Bintan, in the Riau Islands. The hub will compete with the new Lion Air (JT, Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta) hub in neighbouring Batam. The MoU was signed by the President and CEO of PT Garuda Indonesia, Mr. Emirsyah Satar, and the CEO of Gallant Venture Ltd., Mr. Eugene Park at the Singapore Airshow 2014. Under the terms of the agreement, Garuda Indonesia and Gallant Venture will jointly develop Bintan Island as the airline’s new hub with an airport dedicated to Garuda and its subsidiary, Citilink (QG, Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta). “This new operation out of Bintan will help strengthen Garuda’s network development, with a potential to connect East Indonesia with West Indonesia and become the meeting point for our internatio nal flights to Europe and the Far East. With our regional fleet (CRJ Aircraft Series and ATR Aircraft Series) stationed in Bintan, Garuda will be able to be more competitive to service the second tier tourist and business destination cities within ASEAN,” said Satar. The first phase will include the development of a runway and a terminal to accommodate initial traffic. Bintan Airport has enough land to develop into a multi terminal airport with two runways. The airport terminal will be connected to a ferry terminal which will connect Singapore and Batam to/from Bintan airport. Gallant Venture Ltd, through its subsidiary company, currently operates ferry services between Bintan and Singapore Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal. The Aircraft Maintenance Centre will be part of the 177 hectare Bintan Aerospace Industry Park located in the existing Bintan Industrial Estate adjacent to the runway. The Park will include an Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility for aircraft and components and catering to the manufacturing and assembly of aircraft engines and components as well as aviation training and academy, and research & development. There will also be a dedicated township, including employee compound houses, dormitory, health centre, sports centre, convenient stores, to cater to the management and staff in Bintan Aerospace Industry Park. PT Garuda Maintenance Facility AeroAsia (GMF AeroAsia) and Gallant Venture Ltd will set up a Joint Venture Company to run the MRO facility.