Two new aprons are now under operation at Bali’s I Gust Ngurah Rai International Airport, just ahead of the anticipated influx in air traffic that will come with the annual IMF-World Bank meetings coming up next month.
“After finishing the evaluation stage, the aprons are suitable for use,” said I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport Co-General Manager Sigit Herdiyanto.
The final verification and evaluation of the two aprons, which were added on from land reclamation, included testing the western and eastern aprons’ strength measurements, Sigit said on Thursday.
Teams from several agencies came to do the final round of inspections from the Inspector of Aviation Navigation, the Subdirectorate of Airport Standardization of Airport Equipment and Utilities and the Directorate of Aviation Security.
A Lion Air aircraft with the flight number JT-2622 from Pudong Shanghai became the first plane to use the western apron on Wednesday, Sigit told Antara Bali.
Whereas the first plane using the eastern apron was Garuda Airline GA-727 Perth to Denpasar, he added.
In the short run, to accommodate increased traffic as 15,00-17,000 delegates flood into Bali for the IMF-World Bank meeting to take place Oct. 8-15, the western apron was constructed by reclaiming eight hectares.
But the long term plan is to ultimately extend that out to 35.75 hectares, according to Sigit.
The project expanding the tarmac kicked off in April 2018 with the goal of increasing the airport’s capacity.
As a result of the new aprons, Ngurah Rai Airport has had to transfer its VVIP building from the west to the east, and move the Base Ops building at the Ngurah Rai Air Base and waste management.
Another bonus of the impending meeting is the installation of 10 new automated immigration gates at the airport.
