KUBUTAMBAHAN, Bali: For decades, the northern coast of Bali has remained a world apart from the island’s bustling south.
While those who flock to the beaches of Kuta and Canggu are drawn to their hip restaurants, bars and nightclubs, here in the north, visitors come to unwind, enjoy unspoiled beaches, trek hilly forests and stroll through villages where ancient traditions still thrive.
But all of that is about to change.
Indonesia has commissioned the construction of a new international airport in North Bali’s Buleleng Regency, an ambitious project that will reclaim 900 hectares of the Bali Sea to form an artificial island.
Designed in the shape of a giant turtle, the airport will feature two runways – one of which can accommodate the world’s biggest commercial plane, the Airbus A380 – as well as a jetty for seaplanes.
In front of it, shopping malls, convention halls and hotels will be built inside a newly developed metropolis that is projected to be the same size as the current biggest city in North Bali – Singaraja. There is also a plan to turn Buleleng into a film production hub which will be nicknamed “Baliwood”.
Just a stone’s throw away, a new 60km toll road connecting the quiet North Bali town of Kubutambahan and Mengwi, in the outskirts of Bali’s capital Denpasar – as well as a 100km rail network connecting Kubutambahan with the current Ngurah Rai Airport – will be constructed.
The toll road and rail line will cut through densely forested hills and mountains rich in biodiversity.
There are also plans to revamp ports that dot Bali’s north coast – which today can only accommodate traditional wooden fishing boats – into ones capable of welcoming speedboats, yachts and cruise ships.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has thrown his weight behind these grand plans.
“I am committed to building a North Bali International Airport. We will turn Bali into the new Singapore, the new Hong Kong with the (new airport) area as its epicentre,” the president said on Nov 3, as quoted by Kompas news portal.
For some, it is a welcomed change.
Of the 10 million domestic and 6.3 million international tourists who visited Bali last year, only a fraction – around 600,000 of them – came to Buleleng.
The low percentage is one of the reasons why Buleleng has the highest rate of unemployment and poverty in the tourism-dependent island measuring 5,780 sq km, or eight times the size of Singapore. Buleleng is also Bali’s most populous regency where 826,000 of the island’s 4.3 million population reside.
“We have no youths left in our village, because everyone is looking for work in the south or overseas,” said Made Sudirsa, chief of a village that is around a 15-minute drive from where the proposed airport is set to be built.
“We hope these projects will boost our economy and create jobs.”
