"The stairs on Padar Island are being repaired, the pier is being renovated, and more toilets are being built," Sudiyono, director of the Komodo Dragon National Park, noted during a telephonic conversation, here, Monday.
Sudiyono said he had also attended a coordination meeting to discuss preparations for the planned visits.
"We have been informed that the number of participants at the meetings will be between 15 thousand and 17 thousand, and one third or a quarter of them are expected to visit Labuan Bajo," he remarked.
The visits of the meetings` participants will have a significant impact on the tourism industry in East Nusa Tenggara Province, according to Sudiyono.
The number of tourists visiting the park in 2017 had reached 119,599, comprising 75,650 foreign tourists and 43,949 domestic tourists.
In 2016, a total of 107,711 tourists had visited the park.
Meanwhile, Bank Indonesia (BI), the country`s central bank, has estimated that the 2018 IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings would trigger circulation of money reaching up to Rp4 trillion.
"This will strongly boost the economy of Bali," Causa Iman Karana, head of the BI representative office in Bali, noted in Denpasar, Bali, Sunday.
Large amounts of money will be spent to pay for accommodations, transportation, and telecommunication charges as well as for the purchase of food and beverage items, among others things.
The Indonesian government has built several infrastructure projects, including an underpass at the intersection near the I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport to support the implementation of the event.
An apron at the I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport has been expanded to provide a larger parking area for aircraft.
During the meetings, activities at the Ngurah Rai Airport are estimated to increase to 35 takeoffs or landings per hour from the current 28, with a daily capacity of up to 300 movements.
A tourism port is also being built at Benoa harbor in Denpasar.
Moreover, the central bank has forecast economic growth in Bali to reach between six and 6.4 percent, exceeding the 5.59 percent growth recorded in 2017.
The Indonesian government has allocated funds worth some Rp868 billion particularly for the infrastructure projects to support the implementation of the IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings.
The IMF and World Bank hold annual meetings once every three years outside the IMF and World Bank`s headquarters in Washington DC.
Reported by Aloysis Lewokeda
(T.SYS/A/KR-BSR/F001)
Reporter: antara
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2018
