Leaders in Bali have shared their concerns in a recent statement issued by the new President of Indonesia, Prabowo Subianto, that Bali should become the new Singapore or new Hong Kong with the presence of North Bali International Airport.
President Subianto visited Buleleng Regency during his election campaign and promised the people of the region that he would be the leader who could finally and successfully get the project off the ground.
Not only that, he promised that he would do so in a way that honored Balinese culture and the landscapes.
Over the weekend, President Subianto visited Denpasar as part of his first official visit to Bali Province. He told the media and gathered audience, “North Bali Airport as I have conveyed that I am committed, I want to build North Bali International Airport.”
He added, “We will make Bali make the new Singapore and Hong Kong, where we will be the center of this region.”
He was clear that the development would lead to more abundant futures for Balinese people, noting, “Indonesia must be prosperous, and Indonesia must be prosperous and fair; all Indonesians must enjoy prosperity, not just a few people, agree?”
However, not all leaders in Bali have been impressed by the President’s comments, with some coming forward to the media to express their concerns.
Putu Anom, an academic from Udayana University in Bali, explained that aiming to make Bali the new Singapore or Hong Kong of South East Asia could have potentially disastrous impacts on the province and risk destroying everything that makes the island so unique.
Anom explained, “It doesn’t have to be the same as Singapore or Hong Kong. Those are city-states. All skyscrapers. Not necessarily create [that] exactly. We just closely observe the future. Skyscrapers like that are not for Bali.”
He explained that, in his opinion, although Singapore is the most developed nation in Southeast Asia, it does not have the natural or cultural heritage that Bali has.
He shared, “It’s different in Bali. We’ve culture and nature. It’s not like Singapore. Singapore is [a city like that] because it has nothing; there is no culture. Nature is limited.”
Though Anom was not completely against the idea of North Bali Airport, any such project would have to be undertaken with serious thought for the long-term impact and far-reaching consequences on the land, culture, and communities.
Anom is concerned that if current trends around congestion and waste management continue, tourists would be unlikely to want to return to Bali for a second or even third time.
He has called for any development of North Bali International Airport to be done on as little land as possible and for districts and communities across Bali not to focus exclusively on tourism as a main income driver.
Rather, he would like to see people embark on growing businesses in other sectors and adding tourism products and services into their offerings, such as farming, plantations, fisheries, and crafts.
Whether North Bali International Airport gets underway during this presidential term remains to be seen.
The project has been on and off the table for nearly a decade, with land acquisition and funding being key reasons why the development has yet to go ahead.
The project is set to see the development of a major new international airport that would be bigger than I Gusti Ngurah Rai International and able to serve 32 million passengers annually in it’s first phase and up to 50 million at full capacity.
Early development plans also show that the project would include the development of an aerocity, an aerotropilos, a power plant and lifestyle centre.
The airport is set to feature two parallel runways, whereas I Gusti Ngurah Rai only has one, and the runways are set to be build on land reclaimed from the sea.
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Exp
Thursday 7th of November 2024
There are more pressing problems to solve than a second airport.
Are the good people of Temesi, Gianyar aware that all the trash for Suwung landfill now will be directed to their district? Officials say it will be for waste to energy plant and no landfill? Hmm. If not done to state of the art tech it will be a huge burden for nearby residents.
LINK
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Wednesday 6th of November 2024
Hong Kong and Singapore? Bali leaders think that concrete, glass and asphalt creates the riches not understanding all is a mental issue, results of organizational skills and selfless dedication.
I doubt those skills can be found here: In my south Denpasar area they cannot even organize themselves to remove trash bags and broken that just celebrated having been left untouched for two year along main road. Of course I could spend some hours removing the trash along the public road on my own initiative, but then I would be deported for having "worked illegally".