TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian government pitched a railway construction project in Bali to a number of Chinese investors.
“There are several projects that we offered, including a railway construction project in Bali,” Maritime Affairs Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan told Antara in Beijing on Thursday, June 15, 2017.
According to him, the railway will pass a number of regencies where main tourist destinations are located on the island. The first stage of the construction project will start from Denpasar to Ubud in Gianyar Regency and Singaraja in Buleleng Regency.
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Luhut expects the new railway will lead to an equal spread of tourists in Bali. “All this time, tourists are concentrated in Nusa Dua or Denpasar. In the future, tourists are expected to visit north Bali,” he added.
The minister said that he could not yet confirm the commencement date for the project. “Hopefully, [the railway project development] can be kicked off net year, because the World Bank and the Udayana University had completed the feasibility study,” he said.
Earlier, Luhut departed for Beijing and is scheduled to visit the China’s capital on June 15-17, 2017, to follow up the bilateral meeting held between President Jokowi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in May.
Accompanying Luhut during the working visit are National Development Planning Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro, Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) head Thomas Lembong, business owners, and state-owned companies directors.
ANTARA
