The airport is named after the Minangkabau ethnic group who inhabit the region.

Minangkabau International Airport is located 23 km from the center of the city of Padang, occupying an area of 427 hectares as the main gateway to West Sumatra.

The new airport construction cost approximately 9.4 billion yen, in the form of a soft loan from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and the state budget of around Rp 97.6 billion (10% of it).

The construction was carried out by the main contractors Shimizu and Marubeni of Japan JO and Adhi Karya from Indonesia.

In phase II the terminal will be developed to 49,124 square meters to accommodate 5.9 million passengers per year.

The number of taxiways will also increase to eight, to accelerate aircraft traffic on the air side, improve the airline's on time performance, and accommodate more flight operations.

[5] There is an ample parking space and a range of retail stores selling various goods (especially local products).