After much discussion, Bali is to get a second international airport, with work on the mega-project due to begin next year.
Around 13 million tourists passed through the existing Ngurah Rai International Airport in 2011, drawn by Bali's year-round sunshine and tropical beaches, and numbers are expected to hit 15 million this year.
If current growth in passenger numbers continues, the airport, which opened in 1969 and is currently being expanded, will hit its 20 million passenger capacity around 2014 or 2015, Miduk Situmorang, spokesman for airport operator Angkasa Pura, said on Thursday.
The proposed new airport would have an annual capacity of 40 million passengers and would be of "world-class standard," he said, adding that it was being backed by an Indian investor, GVK Power.
"We are anticipating more tourists to come to Bali," Situmorang said. He declined to say how much the new facility was expected to cost.
He said additional infrastructure, such as toll roads connecting the south and north of the island, would be required by the second airport.
The new airport would be located in the northern coastal district of Buleleng, in a part of the island now covered in rice paddies and farms, but a long way from the popular southern beach resorts in Seminyak and Kuta.
"Buleleng is known for its diving spots and dolphins. It's largely an undeveloped farming area so we hope an airport will boost tourism there, as southern Bali is becoming too crowded," Situmorang said.
Situmorang said the company hoped to begin drawing up plans for the airport later this year and to begin construction in the second half of 2013, although it still needed approval from the Transport Ministry and the local government.
It is hoped that with a second international airport, tourism in Bali would be more evenly spread, benefiting the island as a whole and taking the strain off the overcrowded south, where the existing airport is at capacity due to limited space.
This is good news, for all the stated reasons. Give the people of the north a chance at doing it PROPERLY.
This is indeed good news. And yes the north needs to get a part of your growing tourist trade. But please make it well known to all arriving in Bali that drug smugglers, dealers and anything to do with this nonsence will be prosecuted in a harsh and just way.
i was in Ubud for 4 days a couple of weeks ago, escaping from Denpasars dirt, overcrowding,noise and white trash tourists,and mentioned to the manager where we were staying that i was impressed with the quiet and cleanliness,the fact that you can walk the streets without being hassled,and that the padi is still very much there…he said :We have guests but we didnt sell off our land and culture"Interesting statement and quite true i think,i hope in a year or two family will move there….
Lets hope the North doesnt become like the South later….
Bali is probably desined to become a highly developed island like Singapore. In the future, perhaps in 30 years time, most people will probably come to bali, not mainly for tourism but also come to by cheap goods.
Having been to Bali 5 times since 1970 I was sadened that they have not got the message concerning plastic bags the place is a pig pen, in fact I saw some cleaner.
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