In addition to Jakarta and Palembang, the Light Rail Transit (LRT) project is set to make its mark in Bali. Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, has affirmed that the construction of the LRT project in Bali will kick off next year.
“We hope for the groundbreaking early next year. We could have the groundbreaking at the beginning of next year because the study has been conducted for a long time, but due to the impact of COVID, we revived it,” expressed Luhut at the State Palace in Jakarta on Wednesday (September 27, 2023).
The Bali LRT project aims to enhance access to the I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport.
“If not done, by 2026, Ngurah Rai Airport will be congested as the passenger count is expected to reach 24 million at that time,” he added.
Luhut mentioned that President Joko Widodo supports the project. Jokowi has requested further studies to determine the extension of the route. According to Luhut, there is a possibility of extending the Bali LRT route from Ngurah Rai Airport to Seminyak and possibly to Canggu. As for ticket prices, estimates range from US$1 to US$2 per passenger.
“And the president has decided that we will conduct further studies on the Bali LRT from the airport to Seminyak and, if necessary, continue to Canggu, which is approximately 20 kilometers. We are currently considering ticket prices of US$1 to US$2 per passenger,” he explained.
Earlier, Ervan Maksum, Deputy for Infrastructure and Facilities at the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas), emphasized the importance of LRT construction in Bali, especially in reducing travel time to and from Ngurah Rai Airport. According to Bappenas’ plans, the Bali LRT will be constructed underground.
Ervan highlighted the challenges of construction in Bali, where buildings cannot exceed the height of coconut trees, and there are restrictions on demolishing temples (pura). Therefore, building the LRT underground seems to be a suitable solution.
“In Bali, there is a significant problem; buildings cannot be taller than coconut trees, and they cannot go up. If you want to widen the road, there are many temples there. So how do you do it? Going underground is the only way,” explained Ervan Maksum in a Green Finance Discussion at UGM, as quoted by detik.com.
Ervan pointed out that financing the underground construction would be a challenge, as you can see on the LRT project map image below, that the cost could be up to three times higher than constructing an elevated or at-grade LRT line. For instance, a 4.9-kilometer underground LRT track alone would require approximately IDR 5 trillion.
“Now, going underground can be three times the cost compared to above ground. For example, from Ngurah Rai Airport to Kuta, it’s IDR 5 trillion, even though it’s not even 4.9 kilometers. Going underground is expensive,” Ervan explained.
In Ervan’s presentation, the grand plan for the LRT Bali is to be built along a 5.3-kilometer route, connecting Ngurah Rai Airport to Kuta Central Park and continuing its route to Seminyak.
The projected investment required is stated to be US$592.28 million, approximately IDR 9.10 trillion at the current exchange rate (IDR 15,370). Calculating per kilometer, it amounts to approximately IDR 1.71 trillion.
In Indonesia, there are already three LRT projects underway—LRT Palembang and LRT Jakarta, which began operations simultaneously in 2018 for the Asian Games, and the recently inaugurated LRT Jabodebek. These projects feature elevated tracks or viaducts. The Bali LRT, if materialized, would potentially be the first to be built underground.
