A commercial airplane takes off at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali in this undated photograph.(The Jakarta Post/Zul Trio Anggono)
Divya Karyza (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta ● Wed, January 5, 2022
A new airport in Bali’s East Buleleng regency is expected to be finished by 2024. The construction is about to commence after PT BIBU Panji Sakti signed on Dec. 29 a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with China Construction First Group Ltd (CCFG), a subsidiary of Chinese state-owned construction firm China State Construction (CSCEC).
“This is to strengthen our commitment and renew the memorandum of understanding we signed on Aug. 7, 2020,” private airport operator PT BIBU Panji Sakti president director Erwanto Sad Adiatmoko said in a statement issued on Saturday.
The two companies are working together to build the offshore airport, with CCFG as the main contractor in the project.
“We are ready to build the airport,” CCFG Indonesia chief representative Sun Kelin said in the same statement.
Designed to accommodate 20 million passengers a year, North Bali International Airport is intended to alleviate pressure on I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar as Indonesia’s prime tourism gateway, in addition to balancing out tourism between the southern and northern parts of the island.
Located around 87 kilometers from Denpasar, the new airport will boast a 3,850-meter runway, enabling it to accommodate even the Airbus A380, the world’s largest passenger plane.
The offshore airport has been designated as a strategic national project (PSN) under Presidential Regulation No. 109/2020. It will be built in the coastal area of Kubutambahan.
BIBU Panji Sakti also signed an MoU on the project with state-owned construction company Waskita Karya on Dec. 17 last year.
“I hope the cooperation will create a new infrastructure project that will boost aviation and tourism in Bali,” Waskita Karya president director Destiawan Soewardjono said in a statement.
The scope of cooperation between BIBU Panji Sakti and Waskita Karya includes the construction of the runway, taxiways and passenger terminal.
“BIBU Panji Sakti will include Waskita Karya in the international airport’s development going forward,” Arthabangun, corporate secretary of BIBU Panji Sakti holding company PT Titik Group, told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
