Major Infrastructure Developments Set To Change Face Of Bali Tourism By 2027

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There is a new era of infrastructural development coming to Bali.

As the new President, Prabowo Subianto, has promised to make big things happen, there is increasing talk of building not only North Bali International Airport but also a major new toll road that will forever change the way tourists and residents travel across the island. 

The North Bali International Airport is set to be built in Buleleng Regency. The project will build an airport with the capacity to serve over 32 million passengers annually.

The development of a major international airport in Bali is hoped to help spread tourism more evenly through the province and away from the congested central south. 

The President has stated that he wants the North Bali International Airport to be as high quality as Hong Kong or Singapore Airport while simultaneously supporting Balinese values and protecting the wider landscape. The airport runway is set to be built on reclaimed offshore land.

One of the biggest issues facing the development of North Bali International Airport to date, aside from land acquisition and funding, has been the issue of supporting infrastructure.

Leaders and cynics of the project have been clear in adding that the development of a second international airport in the island province would require a huge leveling up of supporting infrastructure in the north and northwest of the region. 

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As confirmed by Sandiaga Uno during his final days as Tourism Minister, the North Bali International Airport project would be supported by the development of a major new toll road that would be built through the heart of Jembrana and Buleleng Regency, connecting the north and south of the province with a major highway.

There is also a possibility of the route traveling through central Gianyar Regency, though due to the high concentration of sites of cultural importance in Gianyar Regency, close to Ubud, there is likely to be kickback over that aspect of the proposal. 

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The President Director of PT BIBU Panji Sakti, the company behind North Bali International Airport, Erwanto Sad Adiatmoko Hariwibowo, told reporters, “The PU Ministry [of Public Works and Public Housing] will also make toll trace from airport to airport. From I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport to our airport – North Bali International Airport.” 

He explained, “This is a route made by the Ministry of PU. Later, there will be a toll road connecting the Mengwi Toll. The toll road is Gilimanuk and Mengwi. Then go down to Ngurah Rai. The toll has been prepared. So don’t worry, the airport is quiet.”

He was clear that the toll road would enable not only residents and tourists to explore more of the island free from traffic congestion but that it would make it easier for tourists to travel between the airports for connecting flights.

Hariwibowo noted, “If there is a passenger movement, the 60 km toll is only half an hour to move here. So, there is still a correlation between the North and the South. Not separated.”

With the new government set on making the North Bali International Airport happen and with funding reported to be locked in, the building could start in a matter of months.

Hariwibowo told reporters, “The North Bali Airport project is an initiative from the private sector and does not use government funds, the investor is a Chinese company, Chang Ye Construction Group, with a cooperation value of USD 3 billion or IDR 50 trillion.”

He concluded, “The target is to complete one runway in 2027 because at that time it was predicted that Airport Ngurah Rai would be very full, so we are chasing that in 2027 one runway must be completed and immediately operational, with a workforce absorption of around 200,000 people.”