Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan, who chairs the national organizing committee, officially inaugurated the command center in Nusa Dua, Bali, on Saturday.

“The command center will integrate all elements of the Indonesian Military and police. This is very good, as all the things are connected in here,” he said, adding that the command center could be used for other major events in the future.

In the command center, the designated personnel will monitor over 600 closed-circuit television (CCTV) systems that have been installed across Bali, other nearby cities such as Banyuwangi, East Java, and Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, and a number of airports.

“There will be a total of 26,000 security personnel deployed to safeguard the event," Luhut said, adding that a security simulation for the event had been conducted.

The minister said that following the inauguration of the command center, readiness for the event stood at 95 percent as of Saturday.

Meanwhile, the 9th Regional Military Command in Bali has said that its preparations are at almost 100 percent.

"Our preparations are nearly 100 percent complete. All the defense equipment and communication-supporting infrastructure are ready," said the commander Maj. Gen. Benny Susianto.

The Bali military command is set to deploy a total of 5,050 personnel, the commander said.

He emphasized that Bali was currently safe and secure, as there was no terror threat identified ahead of the event, which is considered the biggest international conference on the world economy.

“Security at all entry points into Bali has been tightened for months and we have conducted intelligence operations," he added.

Deputy Bali Police chief, Brig. Gen. I Wayan Sunartha, said as quoted by Antara news agency that the police would deploy at least 5,823 personnel for the event.

Traffic restrictions will also be imposed, particularly during the event’s dinner reception at the Garuda Wisnu Kencana (GWK) Cultural Park on Oct. 12, when 2,500 delegates are expected to attend, he said recently.

This is because the route from hotels in Nusa Dua to the home of Indonesia’s tallest statue is a busy, one-way street.

Speaking on a different occasion, the Bali Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) said the agency had prepared 30 helicopters to evacuate world leaders who are scheduled to attend the meeting if anything untoward happened.

“The evacuation standard for one world leader is 10 minutes,” the head of Bali BPBD's Disaster Control and Management Operations technical unit, I Gede Made Jaya Serataberana, said in Denpasar on Sunday, as quoted by Antara.

A total of 189 member countries of the IMF and World Bank are slated to attend the event, which will take place from Oct. 8 to 14 in Nusa Dua. The estimated number of attendees is between 15,000 and 20,000, comprising high-ranking state officials, businesspeople, academics, parliamentarians and representatives of civil society organizations from across the world.           

The 2018 annual meeting will discuss several substantial issues regarding the global economy, including the international monetary system, digital economy, infrastructure financing, sharia finance and issues related to the fiscal sector.  

Aside from the safety and security focus, the country will also ensure smooth transportation for the attendees.

As an example, national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia plans to add 14 international flights per day from Oct. 6 to 11 or a total of 27,000 seats to anticipate the increased number of airline passengers, particularly those heading to Bali for the event.

It also plans to switch its 12 existing flights to expedite the arrivals in Bali, such as the flights to Jakarta from Incheon, South Korea, and Haneda, Japan. (sau/evi)