New North Bali Airport Predicted To Serve 32 Million Tourists Annually

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The plans for North Bali Airport have been floating around since 2015, with rumors for the project surfacing much earlier than that.

The project has been on and off the cards for nearly ten years now, but the most likely incoming president has some big promises to keep.

The Indonesian general election was held on the 14th of February, and official ballot counting and verification are still underway.

It is fairly clear that Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming Raka will be the new president and vice president of Indonesia, respectively.

During his campaign visit to Bali, Subianto promised to get plans for North Bali Airport moving again. 

@mamierad The most beautiful landing at Denpasar Airport 🔥😍❤️ #Bali #lovebali #balivacation #thingstodoinbali #fyp ♬ original sound – HUGEL

Speaking during his campaign trail, Subianto told residents in Buleleng Regency that North Bali Airport is an essential development, not only for tourism but also for national and provincial security.

He explained, “We must not depend on one facility. If something happens, one airport cannot be used; there must be a backup airport.”

Subianto did confirm, however, that any developments on North Bali Airport would be conducted in alignment with traditional Balinese design and architectural values that have a strong environmental focus.

@larasatinesa POV: Landing di Bali dari seat 25F ✨ #airplane #landing #Bali #superairjet #fyp #baliisland #travel #solotrip #traveling #igustingurahraiairport ♬ Landing di Bali – Faizal Maulana

He noted,” 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.”

It is worth taking a moment to revisit the plans for North Bali Airport, which, if current plans go ahead, would see the complex becoming the second biggest airport in all of Indonesia, overtaking I Gusti Ngurah Rai International in Denpasar and Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta. 

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The Chairman of the Bali Gerindra Party Regional Leadership Council (DPD), Made Muliawan Arya, has spoken to reporters as the final results of the election are coming in.

He said that the party and supporting political players will be holding Subianto to account on the campaign promises he made to Bali. 

Arya said, “There are several things in the campaigns that we monitor. It’s not that we win and finish, no. Such as airports, toll roads, rubbish.”

Arya has revealed that Subianto has asked him to start the process of researching the funding opportunities and technologies required to get the airport underway.

Plans and project proposals for North Bali Airport first emerged in 2015. The plans showed that North Bali Airport would have a capacity of 32 million passengers annually and is predicted to be the second-largest airport in Indonesia.

The airport will be built on the sea through land reclamation and plans, so the site has one main passenger terminal with three further satellite passenger terminals, two parallel runways, a heliport, and a seaport.

North Bali Airport would also include a cargo terminal and maintenance area.

The project was first rejected by former president Megawati Sukarno Putri and later rejected again by current President Joko Widodo.

When President Megawati considered that building an airport in North Bali was not a strategic step and suggested the project was a waste of money,

The leaders had both noted that there are already two large airports near Bali that can support the flow of tourists coming in and out of the province, namely Blimbingsari Airport in Banyuwangi and Juanda Airport in Surabaya and, of course, I Gusti Ngurah Rai International itself.

The project was also scrapped because the land acquisition process has slowed to a standstill. 

Arya said that when the final election result is confirmed progress can start. He said “We have to calm down, how to make peace so that it is calm, so that there is no chaos.”

“The celebration is over, the winner is clear, so we will create a united Bali situation. In the future, we will work together again for the community.”