T

he planned construction of a new airport in the northern coastal regency of Buleleng has gone from the hottest issue for the island’s tourism industry to an enigmatic proposal, following years of bureaucratic uncertainty and a lack of serious investors.

Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika conceded that there has been no significant progress made on the planned airport.

“We don’t get enough information on the progress or whether progress has been made on this matter. It is also quite difficult to get any information related to this planned airport from the Ministry of Transportation, due to the recent change in the minister’s position,” Pastika said.

He said that the last information he received was about an ongoing feasibility study to find the best
location for the airport.

The central government focused on three sites in the Buleleng regency: Kubutambahan, Sangsit and Gerokgak villages.

The Bali administration prefers the Gerokgak site to the other two locations, since it has around 600 hectares of land that is suitable for an airport.

Last year, Pastika met with potential investors from India who were also conducting their own feasibility study.

 “Yet, we haven’t received the result of the feasibility study. We are still waiting for the report from the central government,” Pastika said.

The plan to build a second airport on the island was announced several years ago by the then tourism minister Jero Wacik, in anticipation of the growing number of tourists to the resort island.

Data from PT Angkasa Pura I, the operator of Ngurah Rai International Airport, has shown that the number of passengers and flights has continually increased.

The number of passengers reached 12,771,874 in 2011, comprising 6,594,830 domestic passengers and 6,177,044 international passengers. Passenger traffic was double the number recorded in 2006, and nearly 2 million more than in 2010.

Flight traffic has also increased up to 284 flights per day. In 2011, the airport booked 103,771 flights, consisting of 64,262 domestic flights and 39,509 international flights.

It was also said that the planned new airport would gradually overtake Ngurah Rai, in terms of traffic, since the latter faces land-constraint problems that would prevent the operator from extending its runway.

However, late last year, Ngurah Rai commenced a massive Rp 2.1 trillion expansion project, which includes the construction of a new, 129,000 square meter international terminal and upgrade of the apron area and parking facilities.

The project is expected to be completed before the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit takes place in Bali in
September 2013. The expansion shows that Ngurah Rai would still be the island’s primary airport for years to come.

It was also proposed that the new airport would become a hub for domestic flights, which would connect Bali with cities in East Java and Nusa Tenggara.

 “Last year, we met with three investors that planned to invest in the construction of the airport. Unfortunately, we have received no progress report from any of them,” the head of Bali’s Development Planning Agency, Cokorda Ngurah Pemayun, said.