President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo hopes that a MotoGP street circuit in the Mandalika Special Economic Zone (KEK) in Central Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara will help promote the area to become a favorite tourist destination.

“We really hope we will see a new economic spot [in Mandalika] that can support the country’s economic growth. We are really looking forward to Mandalika becoming a ‘new Bali’,” said the President during a visit to Kuta Mandalika beach in Central Lombok on Friday.

The “new Bali” refers to a new tourism destination that has a huge impact on the country, like Lombok’s neighboring island Bali.

Jokowi made Friday’s visit to supervise the progress of construction work on supporting facilities for the street circuit. Indonesia is set to host the MotoGP, the most popular motorcycle racing championship in the world, in Mandalika in 2021. The President was accompanied by Public Works and Public Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono and West Nusa Tenggara Governor Zulkieflimansyah.

“I wanted to see the progress of Mandalika so far. The [ITDC] Indonesia Tourism Development Corporation chairman [Abdulbar M. Mansoer] has reported that the area already has at least seven hotels and three others that are under construction. It shows very good development,” said Jokowi.

The latest updates from the Mandalika project includes a runway expansion at the Lombok International Airport, land acquisition to provide access from the airport to the Mandalika zone as well as the settlement of a precise location for the circuit.

“We hope the construction [of the street circuit] can start in January 2020 at the latest, so within that year we’re going to have all the necessary facilities for the MotoGP,” said Jokowi. “[All the work] is to see the MotoGP race in 2021 at Mandalika in Lombok, Indonesia.”

Apart from the aforementioned work, the President also examined a spot the location for a bypass road that will connect the airport and the Mandalika zone. The public works ministry will build the bypass road.

Abdulbar said the President’s visit had motivated the ITDC, which will operate the Mandalika area in regard to the MotoGP plan, to work hard in meeting the timeline of the whole project. He said the government’s support would mainly be in providing accessibility to the economic zone.

On March 11, Jokowi had a meeting with representatives of MotoGP’s exclusive commercial and television rights holder, Dorna Sports, delivering Indonesia’s commitment to providing infrastructure to support the 2021 race.

In building the street circuit, Indonesia has conducted a list of preparations that include a location survey, topographical study and a homologation plan.

Up next, the country will work on a draft detailing engineering design.

The work on supporting roads that will surround the future street circuit is set to start in October and to finish by the second quarter of 2020. French-based Vinci Construction Grand Projects, an investor in the Mandalika street circuit, will finish up by building the circuit in 2021.

Abdulbar said that the street circuit would provide job opportunities for 7,500 people and boost local investment by US$150 million. The MotoGP race will also bring in about 300,000 foreign tourists to Indonesia on an annual basis.

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