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Government orders another study into Benoa Bay reclamation project
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An aerial photo shows Benoa Bay in southern Bali. (thejakartapost.com/Ni Komang Erviani)
C
oordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan said on Thursday that the government had put together a joint team of scholars to carry out another study on the planned reclamation of Benoa Bay in Bali.
“We are asking a joint team from the World Bank and Udayana University to carry out a comprehensive study on Benoa Bay,” he said on the sidelines of the World Ocean Summit, adding that the team consisted of independent experts.
The planned reclamation is expected to yield 800 hectares of land upon which investors could develop large-scale tourist resorts. The plan has triggered opposition from large numbers of Balinese people. Spearheaded by ForBALI (Bali People’s Forum Against Reclamation), the opposition movement has continued to grow since its inception four years ago.
ForBALI organized another huge rally on Thursday afternoon in Denpasar, calling on the government to reject the planned reclamation project.
“The team from the World Bank has arrived. It will draft the terms of reference for the study and collect the available data. I expect that by next month the team will submit a preliminary report,” Luhut said.
The team will also study the feasibility of constructing a ring road along the island’s coast-line as well as a cruise port in Benoa. It is hoped that a ring road could ease Bali’s chronic traffic problems. (yan)
