PALU: The ‘dead city’ is slowly regaining life with the reopening of Bandara Mutiara SIS Al-Jufrie Airport since the devastation after the quake and tsunami on Sept 28.
Checks revealed that the daily number of flights and passengers continued to rise since Oct 7.
Indonesian Transport Ministry’s civil aviation officer Pramintohadi Sukarno said a total of 2,535 commuters left Palu city on Oct 7, followed by 3,023 people the next day.
“Yesterday (Monday), a total of 2,973 people departed from the city and headed to either Makassar, Jakarta or Balik Papan, Kalimantan.
“Between 19 and 21 commercial flights are available daily and this showed that the transportation for both inbound and outbound (routes) has been revived,” he said.
He said the ministry was working towards repairing the facilities at airport that were damaged in the Sept 28 earthquake.
“The quake had caused serious damages on the pillars, walls, glass doors, roof and other facilities here.
“Works to clear the debris are still ongoing. Passenger check-in counters, luggage claims system, toilets, surau and waiting area on the ground floor are functioning well, while repair work is needed for waiting area on the second floor,” he said.
Meanwhile, electric supply to 95 per cent of the town has been restored starting yesterday, enabling some business premises, including eateries, to resume operation.
Electricity was also restored at government offices, banks, automated teller machines (ATM), hospital, petrol stations and places of worship.
Power supply in Donggala and Sigi was also restored after the seven electrical substations were repaired.
Some petrol stations and restaurants had resumed operation after being closed for almost a week.
The city, that was previously deserted and dark at night, is now filled with people and vehicles.
Pasar Masomba and Pasar inpres were also filled with traders and customers going about their daily routines.