South Bali is to get a new 11-kilometre toll road as part of efforts to ease chronic congestion.
A new consortium has been formed to fund and run the Rp2.4-trillion (US$280-million) project, with work expected to begin later this year, it was revealed this week.The Bali Tourism Development Corporation (BTDC), a government-owned tourism company which manages the Nusa Dua resort area, will be responsible for the project, which will connect Nusa Dua, Benoa and Ngurah Rai International Airport.
“This project will address the severe traffic jams we are experiencing right now,” BTDC operational director I Nyoman Cakra told reporters. “The toll road will provide a better and more convenient route for tourists.”
Cakra said that as well as improving current conditions, the new road would allow for further growth of tourism in Bali.
A construction consortium to invest in the project was founded in August, featuring seven state-owned investors. BTDC will contribute just 1 percent of the funding. Principal investors include PT Jasa Marga, the company which runs most of Indonesia’s existing toll-road concessions and which is contributing 60 percent of the funding; Pelindo III, which runs Benoa Harbour and which will add 20 percent funding to the total; and PT Angkasa Pura, which runs Bali’s airport, and which will contribute 10 percent.
Construction will begin in October, and is planned to be complete by April 2013, ahead of an APEC conference.
Meanwhile, the Bali Environmental Agency announced that it had not received any notification from the developers about the project, and stressed that an environmental impact assessment needed to be carried out before work began. The route of the new road will pass through the mangrove forests on the southeast coast of Bali.
“The document should be submitted to the head of the Environmental Agency prior to the commencement of any construction stage of the project. So far we have yet to receive such documentation,” said agency head I Komang Ardana.
Initial announcement of the plan was made in January. The road will link Serangan, otherwise known as Turtle Island, to the main port area at Benoa, and from there to the airport and Nusa Dua, relieving pressure on the current main highway, Jl Bypass Ngurah Rai, which is scene of some of Bali’s worst congestion, especially around the Dewa Ruci intersection on the outskirts of Kuta.
