Hopes Remain High For North Bali Airport Development

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Aside from flying taxis and tourism visitor quotas, the North Bali Airport has been one of the most contentious ideas in Bali for the last decade.

While the project has been shelved and then put back on the table and shelved again, supporters of the development are hopeful that the new incoming president will give North Bali Airport the final go-ahead. 

The North Bali Airport was officially removed from the list of Presidential Projects in late 2022 when President Joko Widodo acknowledged that insufficient progress had been made.

The project was then formally scrapped again on the 16th of January, 2023, by the 5th President of Indonesia, Megawati Sukarnoputri, who is the current leader of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, who rejected the project proposal once again. 

The fate of the North Bali Airport is deemed to be hanging in the balance once again. If Governor Koster is elected for a second term as Governor of Bali, he will likely honor the wishes of Sukarnoputri and the party. 

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Speaking to reporters the Main Director of PT BIBU Panji Sakti, Erwanto Sad Adiatmoko Mariwibowo, explained where the company is sitting now. BIBU Panji Sakti is the private company that will be developing North Bali Airport. 

The company will be developing “January 16, 2023, and May 5, 2023; these are historic days that none of us can possibly forget. I don’t think it’s a rejection; it’s a different perception if I can refine it a little. As I said in the media last year, maybe he doesn’t know what we are actually going to build, and I really want to explain.”

“I explained it many times in the media, and I think our explanation was well received. Finally, we reached the final point that this airport would soon be built. That is a statement from the highest leadership of this country.”

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Hopes held by supporters of the North Bali Airport project remain high especially since the incoming President-Elect Prabowo Subianto was vocal about his support for the development during his election campaign. 

During an election rally held in Buleleng Regency in North Bali in February, Subianto told the audience, “We must not depend on one facility. If something happens, one airport cannot be used; there must be a backup airport.”

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He was clear, however, that any and all development of North Bali Airport and other facilities must honor the traditional architectural principles of Balinese culture.

He explained, “The Balinese personality must be preserved; the buildings must all have Balinese characteristics. Don’t go around building large buildings. I really believe in this.”

According to BIBU Panji Sakti’s website, the proposed airport will be located offshore from Kubutambahan, close to the northernmost tip of the island. BIBU Panji Sakti says, “This final selected location is considering that offshore locations are safer for aircraft movement.

This location also minimizes the impact of evictions of residents, does not interfere with the existence of temples and holy places, and does not interfere with the productive land.”

The explain “The airport is planned to be able to serve 50 million passengers at the ultimate stage. The airport size is about 600 Ha, 8 masl, equipped with 2 parallel runways, parallel taxiway, modern passenger terminal building, general aviation terminal, cargo terminal and of course ATC Control Tower.”

The project has been described as a ‘new economic engine’ for Bali and the airport would have the capacity to serve 32 million passengers annually, way above the number of travelers that currently pass through I Gusti Ngurah Rai International; both domestic and international flyers combined.