Community Rejects More Development In Sanur Protecting Coastal Resort For Holidaymakers 

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The community of Sanur has kicked back over proposals to construct a Floating Storage Re-gasification Unit (FSRU) Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Terminal in the waters around Sidakarya in South Denpasar, off the shore of the popular tourism hotspot.

Sanur is one of Bali’s most popular tourist resort areas and has undergone a huge redevelopment over the last five years.

Now known as the Sanur Special Economic Zone for Medical Tourism, Sanur is welcoming a new chapter of tourism development while working hard to maintain the community’s traditional way of life as a fishing village. 

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Local communities have raised concerns that plans to build a Floating Storage Regasification Unit (FSRU) Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Terminal in the waters around Sidakarya in South Denpasar.

The mega structure is planned to be built 3.5 kilometers off the coast of Sidakarya Beach and will be connected to the mainland via an underwater pipeline network. The mega-structures would not only be visible from the resort area of Sanur, but also by those making the crossing to the Nusa Islands, and across the Denpasar coast. 

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Many community leaders have come forward to reject the development. They have shared their fears that the project’s distance from the shore is too close and has the potential to cause social, cultural, and environmental impacts on coastal areas, particularly Sanur and Serangan. Both Sanur and Serangan are areas already popular with tourists and that have been identified as being priority areas for tourism promotion in the coming years. 

Community leaders’ concerns are not unfounded. The proposed Floating Storage Regasification Unit (FSRU) Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Terminal off Sanur is set to be 3.5km from the shore.  In comparison, existing FSRU projects in Indonesia are generally located much further from the land mass. For example, the Jakarta Bay FSRU (2012) is located 15 km from the coast, the Lampung FSRU (2014) was developed 22 km from shore, and the Cilamaya FSRU in Karawang, West Java (2021) was built approximately 21 km from the coast. For context, generally speaking, from the shoreline, the horizon is approximately 4.7 km away.

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Speaking to reporters, Ida Bagus Gede Sidharta Putra, who is the Chairman of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) Denpasar and Chairman of the Sanur Development Foundation, shared with reporters his firm opposition to the proposed project. He shared his view that the construction of an LNG terminal in the Sanur-Sidakarya waters could threaten Bali’s tourism image, which relies heavily on its natural beauty and cultural charms as a draw for tourists.

Putra told reporters, “As a Sanur resident and tourism professional, I oppose the LNG terminal plan. There will definitely be social, cultural, environmental, and tourism impacts. Tourists come to Sanur for its natural beauty, beaches, and friendly locals. A refinery would be a thing of the past. What about marine pollution?”

He added that Sanur is more than a tourism destination, and that the coastline and the surrounding waters should not only be preserved for the sake of tourism, but also for the local community too. The coastline around Sanur is of huge spiritual significance for Balinese Hindus. Putra explained, “Sanur Beach is used for many activities, including religious ceremonies, local recreation, and international tourist activities.”

He noted that Sanur’s tourism sector is thriving right now and that leaders should be mindful to avoid anything that may threaten that. “Sanur is doing well, with occupancy rates above 80 percent. It would be a shame to ruin it, especially since we’re promoting wellness tourism. The end of the year usually gets busy from the 20th to mid-January.”

Sanur is settling into its new chapter as a Special Economic Zone for Medical Tourism, with the opening of the Bali International Hospital and other medical facilities in the area proving a success so far. Tourism leaders in Sanur now want to build upon this new foundation and create space for even more tourism niches to thrive in the area. 

Speaking to reporters last week, the Director of Marketing Communications for The Meru Hotel in Sanur, Melody Siagian, shared, “Our role is to support the Sanur Health Special Economic Zone. As a property located here, we want to bring better equality tourists to Bali.”