TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian Transportation Ministry’s spokesperson, Adita Irawati, talked about plans for the Light Rail Transit or LRT Bali project, which will be funded through a government assistance program from South Korea.

“It will be financed by other country’s government. It has not been determined yet, but South Korea has conducted studies,” Adita said at the Transportation Ministry office on Tuesday, Dec. 19.

However, Adita said this does not necessarily mean that South Korea will manage the LRT Bali as the project has to go through a bidding process. “So it doesn't mean that it will be built or operated by South Korea,” she confirmed.

Earlier, Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said the initial construction of the Bali LRT is still being discussed. “Groundbreaking is still under discussion,” he said after inspecting the construction site in Badung Regency, Bali, on Sunday, Dec. 17.

He highlighted crucial issues of Bali that needed to be addressed immediately: it is Indonesia's gateway to international tourism and its distressing traffic congestion.

“There is indeed chronic congestion that could backfire if we don't deal with it. So similar to Jakarta, we will appoint the Person in Charge of Cooperation Projects (PJPK) at the regional and central government level to support the technical perspective,” Budi Karya said.

The Bali government will later hold the majority stake of 51 percent, while the central government will hold 49 percent. The provincial government is willing to fund the capital expenditure and operating expenditure as a buffer.

Budi Karya claimed that some countries have already agreed to work on the first phase of this LRT project. However, the project is planned to be combined with a private company.

Bali Acting Governor Sang Made Mahendra welcomed the plan, seeing it as a form of attention from the central government towards the traffic congestion issues on the island. “Bali really needs modern tourist transportation, because we feel that at certain times, the traffic jam is overwhelming, especially from the airport to Kuta or Canggu.”

RIRI RAHAYU | ANTARA

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