Bali will have second airport: Pastika

Ni Komang Erviani, Contributor The Jakarta Post, Denpasar | Thu, 01/22/2009 1:48 PM  

After months of uncertainty, Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika confirmed on Wednesday the government's plan to equip north Bali with a new public airport. 

After meeting with the Bali Provincial Legislative Council in Denpasar, Pastika said a second airport would be built, adding that the go-ahead had come from Vice President Jusuf Kalla and Culture and Tourism Minister Jero Wacik. 

"The idea to build an airport in north Bali did not just come from me, but also from Vice President Jusuf Kalla, Minister Jero and all the regents in Bali," Pastika said. 

Pastika's administration has been toying with the idea of building an airport in northern Bali since the governor was inaugurated in August last year. 

The administration's most recent plan was to build an airport in Kubu Tambahan district, Buleleng Regency, about 90 kilometers north of Denpasar. 

Currently, all nonmilitary air traffic on the island convenes at Ngurah Rai International Airport in the Badung Regency, southern Bali. 

There is also a small military airport - Lt. Col. Wisnu Airfield - in Gerokgak district, Buleleng. 

Pastika said Ngurah Rai airport was operating well over capacity and could not cope with more flights. 

Ngurah Rai airport operator PT Angkasa Pura I recently announced plans to expand the airport. 

Pastika said the new airport would ease the high population density in southern Bali. 

"It's much too crowded in the south and Ngurah Rai Airport can't support anymore traffic," the governor said. 

"And there's too much development in southern Bali to support the tourism industry there. There has to be an equal amount of development for north Bali's tourism industry," Pastika added. 

Bali's legislative council chairman Ida Bagus Putu Wesnawa said the council was behind the idea, but added that the Bali government would need to perform a study to see whether north Bali could sustain an airport. 

"We need to know whether *an airport in* north Bali can support Bali, whether it's big enough, what the population there is and which areas are suitable for tourist accommodations," Wesnawa said. 

"Because, if it turns out that north Bali cannot handle those things, if it turns out that we might have too many tourists and we can't accommodate them, then this might end up being a very bad plan," the council chairman added. 

Secretary-general of the Indonesian Hotels and Restaurants Association Perry Markus said he was behind the new airport and that he was hopeful it could increase the number of tourists to the island. 

"There are numerous interesting tourism spots in northern Bali, but these spots have not been developed as well as in southern Bali because it's too hard to travel there by land," Markus said. 

Northern Bali is home to a number of popular tourists destinations, such as Lovina beach, Singaraja, and the twin lakes in Bedugul in Gianyar.