Image: The mock-up design. Credit: bibuairport.com
The construction of the North Bali International Airport (BIBU) initiated by PT BIBU Panji Sakti will soon begin, and with Chinese help.
According to Kompas, the construction of the airport involves a subsidiary of the state-owned China State Construction Engineering Corp. Ltd (CSCEC), namely the China Construction First Group Corp. Ltd. (CCFG).
If the construction is carried out immediately this year as planned, it is targeted that the airport will be operating in 2024.
The cooperation between the two companies was marked by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between CCFG and PT BIBU on December 29, 2021.
President Director of PT BIBU, Erwanto Sad Adiatmoko Hariwibowo said the signed MoU contained an agreement between the two parties to jointly build the international airport in Kubuaddan, Buleleng, Bali.
A previous, initial commitment was signed by the two parties on August 7, 2020.
“CCFG will be the main contractor in the construction of this international airport,” Erwanto said in an official statement.
The construction of Buleleng airport is in anticipation of the increasingly limited capacity of Bali’s I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport in the south of the island and especially post-Covid-19 pandemic. Moreover, the Ngurah Rai airport only has one runway .
Meanwhile, CCFG Chief Representative for Indonesia, Sun Kelin confirmed his readiness to fund the BIBU development as a turn-key project.
“We are ready to help realize the airport that the residents of North Bali dream of,” he said.
To note, CCFG’s parent company, CSCEC, is one of the largest SOEs in China, which has a track record in financing and development in the construction sector. This company has a wealth of experience in handling large development projects in China and in various places abroad.
Meanwhile, PT BIBU is the main local overseer of the airport construction project, which is located off shore and located in the Kubuaddan area, Buleleng Regency, which is in accordance with the Regional Regulation (Perda) of the Province of Bali Number 3 of 2020 concerning Regional Spatial Planning (RTRW).
