I Wayan Koster, Bali's newly elected Governor, has given his support to the development of a new international airport at Kubutambahan in Buleleng on Bali's north coast.

Recently, there has been a lot of discussion surrounding the viability of the project. Gapura Bali reported in the run-up to the Gubernatorial elections in April that a new administration in Bali may lead to a new direction for the island's thriving tourism industry as calls to close the conspicuous gap between the development and financial prosperity of the south with the rest of the island have grown stronger."A key topic around this has been a new airport on Bali's north coast, which it is hoped would go a long way to address this imbalance," said Gapura Bali.

Koster, it seems is taking steps in this direction. In a recent report in Bisnis, he said constructing an international standard airport in Buleleng would continue to support Bali's tourism infrastructure and would be a better option than expanding the existing runway at Ngurah Rai, especially as any such expansion would mean reclamation and come with a heavy price tag of around IDR 25 trillion, money which could be used to develop a much larger facility in the north.

He has reportedly met with the Minister of Transportation three times already to discuss the project, which is still under study. Bisnis are predicting studies will be completed later this year.

Sources: Gapura Bali, Bisnis, Antara News

Similar to this:

Sharing the wealth in Bali: Easier said than done?

On again, off again: the ongoing debate over Bali's new airport continues

Does a new governor mean a new direction for Bali?