Road Over the Sea to Ease Bali Traffic

Made Arya | December 01, 2010

DrDez
10:36am Dec 1, 2010

I wonder what an upscale tourist centre is??

But seriously ... 23 million visitors per year?? Jakarta has around 25 million traffic, Singapore 28 million. New facilities are welcome but where will the second & third runways be?.. realistic target from 2 million. Maybe not.. Also where are an extra 2 million per month people going to come from? Where are they going to stay? Its OK getting them out of the airport but what about the rest of the islands infrastructure? This is a pipedream I feel. Also 100m of mangrove.. I dont believe it. More than that will be lost to workers warungs and the rubbish they produce... I accept a need to do something but I question the logic and real objective here. This is as crazy as building an underground in Jakarta. Some fool wants their brains washing out nad thier bank accounts checking

Denpasar. Five state companies are planning to build an elevated roadway linking the upscale tourist and conference center of Nusa Dua to the Bali capital of Denpasar and its airport, an executive said on Tuesday.

The road, which would also pass the popular tourist subdistrict of Kuta, will be partly constructed over the sea and coastal mangrove forests, said Suratto Siswodiharjo, the president commissioner of Angkasa Pura I, which manages the island’s Ngurah Rai International Airport.

“The project has been agreed to be in the form of an elevated road over the sea and mangrove forests. The tender will be conducted in early January 2011 and the permit from the Forestry Ministry has already been obtained,” Suratto said.

Besides AP, Suratto said the companies involved in the project were road builder Jasa Marga, contractor Wijaya Karya, port management firm Pelabuhan Indonesia III and Bali Tourism and Development Corporation.

The approximately 14.5-kilometer-long road is to be built some four meters above sea level, BTDC president director Mande Mandra said. It would link Ngurah Rai, the port of Benua and the Nusa Dua resort to Denpasar, he said, adding that Rp 2 trillion ($222 million) in funding was being prepared for the project.

“It will not damage the mangrove forests in Denpasar or those in the Badung district [where Nusa Dua is located]. Only about 100 square meters of these forests would need to be cleared,” Mandra said. The forests in the affected areas cover some 1,375 hectares, he added.

Suratto said that the construction of the road was necessary to improve the infrastructure on the island ahead of the summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, which will be held in Bali in 2013.

The road’s completion is also meant to coincide with the planned expansion of the airport that same year — just in time for the APEC summit.

The airport will see its area expanded and its capacity raised to 23 million travelers a year from the current two million.

Badung district chief Anak Agung Gede Agung said that Nusa Dua and Denpasar were currently linked by nothing more than a single main road.

He added that it was hoped that the construction of the elevated road would put an end to heavy traffic congestion in the area.

Ngurah Rai Airport general manager Heru Legowo said that the relocation of an employee housing complex consisting of 143 homes and six other buildings necessitated by the airport expansion plans, was expected to be completed in February.
http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/road-over-the-sea-to-ease-bali-traffic/409423