W

hile the central government has suspended a land reclamation project in the Jakarta Bay, another controversial project is underway in Bali. An artificial island measuring 1,400 hectares is to be created in waters off Bali’s northern coast for a new airport.

Airport Kinesis Financial and Transportation Consulting, the company designing the project, presented the construction plan to the Bali Administration on Thursday.

I Made Mangku from Airport Kinesis Indonesia said the airport would be built in waters near Kubu Tambahan in Buleleng regency. Mangku said 264 hectares of the 1,400 hectare project would be reclaimed land, while the remainder would be built as a floating structure.

“Since the waters reach around 500 meters in depth, we cannot reclaim the area. So, we have decided to build a floating area,” Mangku said, adding that the reclaimed part would be used as a buffer for the floating part.

The new airport area is designed to include hotels, a sports center, lakes, water parks and other facilities.

The airport itself will have two runaways that can accommodate all aircraft types, according to the plan. Measuring 7,200 meters in length each, the runways will be more than twice as long as the one at Ngurah Rai International Airport in southern Bali, which is 3,000 meters long.

“We’ve designed the airport to accommodate more commercial aircraft, so that we can achieve three times as many flights and passengers as Ngurah Rai airport,” Mangku said.

Ngurah Rai airport currently accommodates an average 49,644 passengers and 372 flights per day.

A railway is planned to connect the new airport with other areas of Bali. The airport, according to the plans, will harness renewable energy from solar cells and a tidal power plant and will also include a water treatment facility.

The floating airport will cost an estimated Rp 50 trillion (US$3.7 billion), with its construction to be financed by a loan from South Korea.

Mangku said he expected the groundbreaking for the project to take place on Aug. 28, but admitted that the company had yet to file all the paperwork to get a recommendation from the Buleleng Administration. Meanwhile, a recommendation from the provincial administration was secured in April.

Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika said the new airport was extremely important for Bali, as the only existing commercial airport in southern Bali was overloaded.

The new airport is expected to balance development between southern and northern Bali. “We are now like a tilted ship. There have been many complaints. South Bali is overcrowded. The airport is also overcrowded. Aircraft need to circle above Bali to get a chance to land,” he said.