A comprehensive study is now in process by the World Bank and the University of Udayana, Luhut said in Bali on Saturday.
"The airport in Singaraja has to be a reality as tourism also has to grow there," he said after commissioning an underpass in the Ngurah Rai statue cross road in Denpasar, the capital of Bali.
In the next several years, the Ngurah Rai airport of Denpasar could not accommodate the fast growing number of visitors to Bali, he said.
State-owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura I is carrying out long term plan to expand the apron of the I Gusti Ngurah Rai international airport by 40 hectares through reclamation of the beach area.
The expansion could increase the airport capacity up to 39 million passengers in the next three to four years. Short term 8 hectare expansion plan necessitated by the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank next month is almost fully completed.
However, later the expansion would not be enough to meet the growing number of visitors to Bali from year to year and further expansion of the airport would be much difficult, he added.
Therefore, the government has asked the World Bank and the Udayana University to speed up the study that has to be comprehensive and to be completed early next year, he said.
Luhut said studies are also being carried out on access road to the airport to be built and on toll road to link the southern and northern parts of Bali.
"The toll road has to be built. It is only a matter of time," he said.
He said when the study on the international airport in Singaraja has been wrapped up the next question is the budget.
He said funds for the projects could be provided by a number of sources - government institutions, private investors even the World Bank would agree to provide the fund.
Reporting by Dewa Wiguna
Editing by Albert Saragih, Bustanudin
Reporter: Antara
Editor: Suharto
Copyright © ANTARA 2018
