Bali administration plans to build another international airport in Buleleng regency on the northern part of the tourist island.Governor Made Mangku Pastika said the second airport would be needed to anticipate the fast growing number of tourists visiting the island, which the existing Ngurah Rai airport would not be able to accommodate in the future.
The new airport is intended to both spread development to the neglected north and east of Bali, and to relieve pressure on the island’s crowded south.
Kubutambahan is around 15 kilometres east of the regency capital, Singaraja, and a coastal plot of land has reportedly been identified as the site.
However, there is still uncertainty over the source of funding for the project, with no firm announcement yet made despite rumours of involvement from an Indian investment group.
Speaking to local media this week, I Ketut Wija, of the provincial Economic and Development Department, said the original Indian investors had backed out of the project, but that other investors had been lined up.
Bali’s existing airport, at Tuban, is currently undergoing renovation and expansion ahead of next year’s APEC summit at an estimated cost of Rp2.7 trillion.
The project is set to increase the airport’s handling capacity from 9 million passengers a year to 25 million.
