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Ngurah Rai airport sees 68 percent progress
While the construction of the Nusa Dua-Tanjung Benoa toll road and the Dewa Ruci underpass are more than 90 percent complete, the overall development of Ngurah Rai International Airport in Badung regency is proceeding at what seems to be a snailâs pace, with only 68 percent of the project completed
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W
hile the construction of the Nusa Dua-Tanjung Benoa toll road and the Dewa Ruci underpass are more than 90 percent complete, the overall development of Ngurah Rai International Airport in Badung regency is proceeding at what seems to be a snail's pace, with only 68 percent of the project completed.
The completion of the three mega infrastructure projects are Bali's top priority before the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit takes place on Oct. 1-8.
'Overall, we have reached 68 percent completion. We are confident that we will finish all structural construction at the end of May,' Ngurah Rai airport development spokesman Trubus Suharsono told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
'In July, the domestic terminal, which now operates on the first story, will move up to the third story and by August, the new international terminal will start operation,' said Trubus.
The remaining 32 percent of work includes the installation of the airport's five layers of wavy roof, which has been one of the biggest challenges, according to State-Owned Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan during a visit to the site in February.
'The first and second layers of the roof are scheduled to be completed next week. We will accelerate our work to complete the installation of the three remaining layers by May,' Trubus said.
The ocean-wave-styled rooftop was a design by local consultant PT Indulexco and architectural firm Atelier 6. The roof's design is eco-friendly, using glass-like heat-absorbing material to illuminate the building with sunlight during the day, thus minimizing the use of electricity, and to collect rain water that will be used in the terminal's restrooms.
He said efforts had been made to ensure the deadline was met, including by boosting the number of construction workers from 1,200 to 1,600, who rotate in three shifts covering 24 hours. 'And, off course, we pray that the weather stays good,' Trubus added.
He estimated that 92 percent of the total development would be completed by August, leaving only 8 percent of work remaining in terms of adding the finishing touches to the interiors and exteriors.
The development of the 285-hectare Ngurah Rai airport, which received Rp 2.8 trillion (US$ 288.4 million) in investment funding from state-owned airport manager PT Angkasa Pura (AP) 1, aims to boost the airport's capacity from being able to handle 13.5 million passengers to 25 million. The project, which began in May last year, will double the size of the airport's international terminal to 130,000 square meters (sqm) from 65,800 sqm, while the domestic terminal will be five times larger from the previous 13,000 sqm to 65,800 sqm.
Meanwhile, PT Jasa Marga Bali president director Akhmad Tito Karim gave his assurance that construction of the 10-kilometer, above-the-sea toll road connecting Nusa Dua, Ngurah Rai and Benoa, would be completed by the end of May.
