Jakarta, IO – Bali Island is preparing to have a new mode of transportation in the form of an LRT train that will be built underground. National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) deputy for facilities and infrastructure Ervan Maksumvsaid the development of railways in Bali is very important in a bid to shorten the travel time to and from Ngurah Rai Airport.
According to Ervan, there are many development regulations on the island of Bali that must be adhered to. Among them are ban on tall buildings and relocation of temples. Therefore, building an underground LRT is the right solution.
“In Bali, there is a rule that buildings cannot be higher than coconut trees. If you want to widen the road there are lots of temples. What do you? You have to go down, that’s the only way,” said Ervan, per Detikcom, Thursday (26/10).
So far, the capacity of the roads in Bali is no longer sufficient to keep up with vehicle growth. This results in frequent traffic jams, especially in touristy areas. Ervan said that sometimes it can take up to 2 hours to get to the airport during peak hours.
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“The problem is time is precious, even though Bali is small, it’s a problem. One solution is to use trains to speed up mobility in areas such as Jimbaran, Seminyak, Kuta, Nusa Dua and Sanur,” explained Ervan.
According to Ervan, building an LRT underground can cost up to three times more. He explained that the 4.9 kilometer line alone would cost up to Rp5 trillion. The masterplan for Bali LRT is to build a length of 5.3 kilometers connecting Ngurah Rai Airport to Kuta Central Park then continues the route to Seminyak. The total investment needed is US$592.28 million (Rp9.1 trillion). (rr)