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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Rick
Thursday 14th of November 2024
Bali is a beautiful island that has kept its culture, architecture and its connection with nature. Travellers visit Bali to experience Balinese life and its people, its forests, waterfalls, rice planted terraces and fields, beautiful traditional villages, volcanic mountains and of course its large numbers of beaches, exceptional coral reefs and marine life. The spirituality and history of its temples and shrines have to be experienced to be understood, as they engender a calmness and respect, and a warmth of culture offered by the people of Bali. The Balinese have a close relationship to the sea that surrounds them, and the tourist can experience this and village life, with relative ease. There is excellent and inviting accommodation to suit all tourist budgets, and absolutely fabulous restaurants, cafes, and warungs serving beautiful food, be it traditional or otherwise. Bali cannot be compared to Singapore in this regard, and it would be an enormous loss for Bali and its people, to lose their cultural uniqueness and identity because of over-development. I have travelled much of Asia, and I have visited Indonesia several times, including Java, Bali, Nusa Lembongan, Penida, Lombok, Gili Islands, Flores, and Sulawesi. Each region has its individual traditions and identity, and its geographical beauty and nature. Excessive high rise city development tends to diminish the environmental connection that people, as inhabitants, experience in their lives. This is especially true of sprawling overpopulated cities and over tourism. I write this in the hope that new development for Bali, and for that matter other regions in Indonesia, is a vision that does not emulate far less attractive global destinations, where cities have become less livable, more polluted, and where new building and development, has come at the expense of an older and more traditional life style, with unique architecture, and thousands of years of history. Visiting tourist numbers to Indonesia are high, simply because Western and Asian tourists in particular, want to escape from their massive cities and featureless environments. They are drawn especially to destinations such as Bali, to experience the slowed down Balinese way of life, and engage with its people, and its natural beauty. In my opinion, further decades of excessive development could easily have an outcome, where this life style balance is lost, and future planning should kept such a possible negative consequence in mind.
Harrison
Friday 8th of November 2024
Finally, a comment from someone about tourists not making a second or third visit to Bali after experiencing the traffic.
He is absolutely right! If I had had to abandon my taxi on the toll road a r drag a suitcase 2km to the airport (like last Christmas) I wouldn’t want to come back.
We know people that took a day trip (with kids) from Nusa Dua to Ubud. Nearly six hours total in the car.
Why would people come back here?
BaliEyeWitness...
Saturday 9th of November 2024
@Harrison, as a veteran of some 14 trips and over three years recent living in Bali (Sayan), I no longer wish to spend time there. It's really sad. I love the culture which used to be there, which is now being overwhelmed. I loved the nature which used to be there, which is now being overwhelmed and concreted over, and it's impossible to go out anywhere without spending hours breathing in traffic fumes waiting in traffic jams. Prices zooming up, rude near-naked Russians everywhere. Disgusting piles of trash thrown in the forests and rivers by locals. Underage kids on bikes with brong mufflers. Korupsi di mana-mana. There are better places to be.
stewe
Thursday 7th of November 2024
Keep Bali culture please...
Thommo
Thursday 7th of November 2024
With all due respect Subianto Prabowo sounds like a bigger clown than Trump. Full of empty ridiculous promises that will achieve very little. Free lunches and meals for schoolkids in Indonesia. An impending operational costly disaster. They must be exhausted riding their motorbikes to school and being fundamentally lazy and social media obsessed. And Bali like Singapore/ Hong Kong. Firstly they are in the first world and Indonesia is not. It hasnt even reached pre-developed stage. Plus its endemically corrupt one of the worst in the world. Plus hes Suharto tarnished and has fooled and paid off his backers. A north Bali airport yes its needed. But he sont get it done. It would spread tourism away from the South Bali debacle of uncontrolled development along with disastrous traffic congestion and disgusting pollution,rubbish management. The never ending merry go round of politicians and authorities, governance that put their foot in their mouths here never ceases. They have no idea and real issues just remain ignored.
Paul
Thursday 7th of November 2024
I for one wouldn't use the new airport if the runways are being built in the sea.The balinees don't have the skill set for such a project for one just look at the mess that is the new cruise ship terminal at tanahampoo total waste of time and money.