Bali currently doesn’t have a railway system, but there is going to be light at the end of that train-less tunnel as the construction of a light rail transit (LRT) system connecting Ngurah Rai International Airport and Kuta looks set to kick off in the coming months.
Yesterday, the Korea Overseas Infrastructure & Urban Development Corporation (KIND), along with Korea Rail Network Authority (KRNA) and state-owned construction firm Nindya Karya, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the development of an LRT in Bali.
The MoU follows Bali Governor I Wayan Koster’s announcement last May, when he mentioned plans of improving public transportation on the island, including those that connects the airport to several tourist areas.
“The LRT can be an alternative mode of transportation to reach the airport, which will reduce traffic congestion around the airport,” Ikmal Lukman, a deputy on investment planning at Indonesia’s Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), said in a statement.
The LRT project is reportedly worth IDR5 trillion (US$365 million), and will span 4.78 kilometers with four stations between the airport and a planned satellite terminal in Kuta.
According to Nindya Karya acting president director, Haedar A Karim, the LRT is just one of several upcoming infrastructure projects in Bali, which will later include developments of a green city and other transit-oriented development around Seminyak and Kuta.
Haedar told Detik the LRT project will kick off around three months after the signing and said the plan is to have it running by 2022.
