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s Buleleng administration has received a preliminary feasibility study from a local investor wishing to invest in the planned international airport in northern Bali, regency officials and tourism stakeholders are urging a larger role from the central government to support the realization of the megaproject.

'€œAround March, we received the feasibility study conducted by a third party, PT Pembangunan Bali. The study focused on three locations: Gerokgak, Celukan Bawang and Kubu Tambahan in Buleleng that were deemed suitable for the airport establishment,'€ Buleleng administration secretary Dewa Ketut Puspaka told Bali Daily on Thursday.

However, Puspaka acknowledged that the exact spot for the airport had not yet been determined.

Puspaka acknowledged that previously, the Indian company GVK Power and Infrastructure Ltd., as well as TAV Airport Holding from Turkey, had once shown some interest in investing in the project. '€œHowever, we have not received any follow up from them since.'€

Stating that presence of the airport would serve as a long-term investment to advance the arguably underdeveloped northern Bali region, Puspaka said: '€œBuleleng administration is truly hopeful that there will be concrete investment for this project.'€

Noted tourism businessman and former chairman of Bali Tourism Board, Bagus Sudibya, underlined the urgency of establishing the island'€™s second international airport up in the northern part of the island, to back up the limited capacity of the current international airport, Ngurah Rai, in Badung regency, on the southern edge of Bali.

'€œNgurah Rai airport'€™s capacity may only sustain the island for the next 10 years. With 25 million visitors annually arriving at the airport, by the year 2025, we will need to have a second airport ready to operate to avoid excess load at the existing Ngurah Rai,'€ said Sudibya.

'€œSo, now is indeed high time to build this new airport,'€ he said.

Nonetheless, Sudibya cautioned that such a huge investment over a 10-year period at a location which is not yet fully developed, such as Buleleng regency, should be mainly supported by the government, instead of relying heavily on the private sector.

'€œThe private investor may contribute to the physical construction, or the operations of the airport, but other than that, land procurement and supporting infrastructure, including road access, electricity and water supply, should be the responsibility of the local administration and central government from the start,'€ he pointed out.

Meanwhile, the Transportation Ministry'€™s director general of civil aviation, Herry Bakti Gumay, pointed out that so far, the central government had not yet planned to allocate funding from the national budget for the Buleleng airport project.

'€œThis project is purely an initiative of the local administration and the private sector. So, our main role as regulator is to issue licenses for this project. In the meantime, we do expect that the private company that already submitted its preliminary feasibility study will provide us with its further detailed master plan and readiness to implement this project,'€ said Herry.