Indonesia’s Prabowo commits to make Bali 'the new Singapore' through international airport pledge

DENPASAR, BALI: A new international airport could help transform Bali into “the new Singapore” or “the new Hong Kong”, the country’s newly-inaugurated president has pledged.

“I am committed to build a North Bali International Airport … We will make Bali into the new Singapore, the new Hong Kong … an economic centre” he said during a luncheon event in Denpasar, Bali on Sunday (Nov 3) attended by the governor and mayoral candidates that his Gerindra Party is endorsing their candidacies for in the upcoming regional elections.

The planned international airport will be in the Buleleng regency - also the largest and most populated regency on the island, located in the northern area, more than two hours away by car from Denpasar city.

“Indonesia must prosper and Indonesia must be prosperous and remain fair, all Indonesians must be able to enjoy prosperity, not just a few,” Mr Prabowo said enthusiastically, prompting cheers from the audience as seen in videos released by local media outlets on Sunday (Nov 3). 

“Work hard, think big, although others have said it is impossible, we prove (to them) that it can be done,” he said to the candidates. 

The promise to build a North Bali International Airport was also articulated in regional election campaigns by candidate pair Mr Made Muliawan Arya and Mr Putu Agus Suradnyana from the Onward Indonesia Coalition (KIM) backed by Mr Prabowo.

Regional elections will take place across the archipelago on Nov 27.

Local news outlet Bisnis reported that one of the potential investors for the new airport - PT Bandara Internasional Bali Utara (BIBU) - had stated that the investment value of the new airport could reach 17 trillion rupiah (US$1.07 billion), covering an area of 600 hectares.

The Jakarta Post had previously reported that Bali’s development is focused on the southern region which is popular among foreign tourists due to its proximity to its only international airport - Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport.  

The proposal to build an international airport in the Buleleng Regency was first mentioned when Mr Made Mangku Pastika served as the governor of the island between 2008 and 2018.

According to media outlet Bisnis, Mr Mangku Pastika first proposed the construction of an international airport in 2014, suggesting locations in the Gerokgak or Kubutambahan district to ease congestion. 

“If I want to fly to Jakarta or elsewhere from Ngurah Rai International Airport, the queue to board the plane can take half an hour or one hour,” the former governor was quoted as saying by local media platform Kumparan when he raised the idea again in January last year. 

The project to build North Bali International Airport however was removed from former president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s list of National Strategic Projects in July 2022.

According to local media, the proposal was rejected by former president Megawati Soekarnoputri. Mdm Megawati is the chairwoman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) which was the ruling party at that time. 

“I even said to Cabinet Minister Pramono Anung, on behalf of the people of Bali, don’t just think about yourselves, Bali is very small, the local population is small and only (foreign) investors come here,” she said during a visit to the Sanur Special Economic Zone in Bali in January last year, as reported by CNN Indonesia. 

Mdm Megawati reportedly opposed the idea as she considered the airport to “only benefit tourists”, and proposed to build additional runways instead at the existing Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport.

On Aug 29, former Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Pandjaitan also confirmed ongoing plans to build a light rail transit system to ease road congestion from the airport, by connecting Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport to popular tourist areas like Kuta. 

“In terms of infrastructure, I am quite sure that we can make Bali better in the future. The president has plans to connect North Bali to South Bali,” Mr Luhut said in a keynote speech during the 2024 International Quality Tourism Conference on Aug 29, as Detik.com reported. 

Mr Luhut was appointed as the Head of Mr Prabowo’s revived National Economic Council on Oct 21. 

Meanwhile, on Sep 3, Indonesia’s Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno also announced plans to temporarily halt the construction of new hotels and villas in the southern region, as the Indonesian resort island works to curb overdevelopment and preserve agricultural land amid an influx of tourism.

With over 15 million tourists visiting Bali recorded in 2023, according to The Jakarta Globe, the Bali provincial government expects a continuous increase in tourist numbers in the coming years, working towards Indonesia's overall target of welcoming 14 million tourists by the end of the year.