Controversial Sea Wall Project In Famous Bali Resort Set For Completion In February 

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Construction teams have shared an update about what has been happening down at the Uluwatu Sea Wall project.

The controversial project was initially cited as a way to help conserve the limestone cliffs around Uluwatu Temple from cracks, erosion, and potential collapse. Yet, many feel that the project has done more harm than good.

According to the Head of Water Resources (SDA) of the PUPR Office of Badung Regency, Anak Agung Rama Putra, a whopping 83% of the project has already been completed. The project is set to be completed in February 2025. Putra confirmed that the construction work has now reached the area of the cliff directly beneath Uluwatu Temple.

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He explains “The impact of the waves is from south to north, usually from west to east. Well, our position is working in the east, the waves are from south to north. Therefore, our current step is to dampen the impact from the south before continuing the revetment work.”

Of the total 1-kilometer revetment-sea wall length, 392 meters are yet to be completed. Putra says this is because the impact of the waves caused some parts to sink; currently, tetrapods are installed to dampen the waves before continuing the revetment work.

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He revealed “While Tetrapod 138 has been down, not yet placed, (on Wednesday) the equipment is set up, placement will be done (Thursday). Tetrapod functions as a kind of breakwater.”

He further explained that to strengthen the cliff, several other methods have been implemented, such as filling cavities in the rock. Teams have also been using shotcrete, otherwise known as sprayed concrete, to conserve the cliff and have installed brick nets, in the form of wire mesh, to strengthen the rock structure that construction teams say is brittle due to the impact of seawater.

Putra explained that the shotcrete and wire mesh coating process has reached 500 square meters of the target of 1,100 square meters.

Putra told reporters that although the project was targeted for completion on 31st December 2024, the project received a 50-day extension, with a target completion in early February 2025. He noted “The overall target, there is an extension with a fine. The target is completed in early February 2025 because there is a 50-day extension, it should be completed on December 31, 2024. Our difficulty is at the cape point because of the sea current.”

The Uluwatu Sea Wall and cliff conservation project has been a highly contentious issue since many local residents and Bali lovers have raised concerns about the mythologies used to develop the project. In order to construct the sea wall and carry out cliff crack stabilization work, a huge section of the limestone cliffs close to Uluwatu Temple had to be cut away in order for heavy machinery to access the shoreline below. 

In the last week, further concerns have been raised by community members after footage shows that a new section of limestone cliff, markedly closer to the Uluwatu Temple, fell away. The cliff area that fell has left a freshly exposed area of rock. Uluwatu Temple is one of the most famous sea temples in Bali and is best known for its precious position atop the rugged cliffs of the Bukit Peninsula. 

In October 2024 the Bali Attorney General’s Office is now investigating what was happening at the Uluwatu cliff after local communities raised serious concerns that the project had been given the go-ahead without an environmental impact assessment, known locally as an AMDAL.

Local communities also raised complaints that they had not been fully consulted on the scope of the project prior to work getting underway. 

Public complaints hit the headlines after footage was posted online that showed heavy machinery drivers dumping the stone excavated from the cliffside directly into the ocean rather than trucking it away.