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ngkasa Pura I, the operator of Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali, will speed up its planned expansion project of the airport to accommodate the upcoming IMF-World Bank meeting in Bali in October 2018.

The state-owned airport operator has set a target to begin the development project next month, prioritizing an extension of the apron in the only international airport on the resort island. The Rp 4 trillion (US$301 million) project is also expected to provide long-term benefits to the growing tourism industry in Bali.

Ngurah Rai airport general manager Yanus Suprayogi said he expected the project to be completed before October next year, in time for the IMF-World Bank meeting. More than 13,000 people from 189 countries, including officials, observers, academics, journalists and NGO representatives, are expected to attend the meeting.

The project will include the construction of 20 additional aircraft parking stands aimed at helping improve airport ground traffic management, which the company said was key to the project.

“Currently, we only have 53 aircraft parking stands. Under the plan, we expect to have 20 more parking stands,” Yanus told journalists on Thursday afternoon.

Under the scheme, the airport expects an increase of aircraft flow on the ground to 35 aircraft movements per hour, from 27 movements currently.

A reclamation of about 48 hectares of land — which is different with a controversial business-oriented Benoa Bay reclamation project in the southern part of the island — is needed for an apron extension in the western part of the airport, which is close to the shoreline. The extension will be located next to the existing runway.

“The feasibility study for the project was already ongoing,” Yanus said.

The project will also include renovation of the existing domestic terminal, which later will be transformed into an international terminal. Meanwhile, the existing international terminal will be used for passengers of domestic flights.

“The existing domestic terminal is located near the planned new apron. Therefore, we will switch the positions of the two terminals,” Yanus said.

The project, which falls in line with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s campaign to boost connectivity across the country, will be financed by multiple state-owned enterprises, including Angkasa Pura I.

“Some state-owned enterprises will collaborate to fund the project. The details were still being discussed. But we hope we can start the construction soon,” Yanus said.

Citing the urgency of having better airport infrastructure to support growing tourism in Bali, which is among the country’s main tourist gateways, Tjok Oka Artha Ardhana Sukawati, chairman of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association’s (PHRI) Bali chapter, welcomed the airport expansion plan.

“We fully support the plan. Many things should be improved there to welcome more tourists to our island,” Tjok Oka told The Jakarta Post in a phone interview on Thursday. “As a tourist gateway, it must be better presented and accommodate more tourists.”

He, however, also said such a project should consider all aspects, including the environment.