Denpasar (Antaranews) - Speaker of the Bali Legislative Council (DPRD), I Nyoman Adi Wiryatama, has lauded the central government for its decision to go ahead with a plan to build an international airport in Buleleng District, Bali Province.
"We laud the central government`s decision on the construction of an international airport in Buleleng, after a presentation by the Bali Provincial Administration highlighting that the airport construction would have significant impact on the economic growth in future," he said here on Monday.
Previously, the central government stated that the construction of an international airport in Buleleng was not feasible based on a survey by World Bank.
However, after Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika made a presentation before the central government, the government decided to go ahead with the plan, he noted.
The groundbreaking of the airport development was scheduled in August this year.
According to her, the Balinese people have wanted an international airport in Buleleng since long time ago, in order to narrow a development gap between north and south Bali,.
Wiryatama hoped that the government would soon decide the location for the airport development.
He asked the transportation ministry to make a study and issue a permit concerning the location of Buleleng airport soon, in order to enable investors to start the construction works.
Earlier, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan remarked that a plan to construct the airport in Buleleng District would be implemented.
"A plan to develop the North Bali airport will be implemented, and a road will be built to connect north and south Bali," Pandjaitan noted in a statement in Jakarta on Friday.
Once the construction of the road is complete, the groundbreaking ceremony for the development of the North Bali airport will be held, he remarked.
"It is just a matter of adjusting the calendar, as the investment is quite huge," he added.
The construction of the road and airport is crucial to ensure equitable development in both south and north Bali and to improve the welfare of the public in the two areas, according to Pandjaitan.
"The study (for the construction of the toll road) will be ready soon. Road infrastructure on both sides of Bali, such as those in Karangasem and Tanah Lot, will be built by preserving the local environment," he pointed out. (I020)
