Nusa Dua to Serangan Island will be connected by Toll Road
February 29, 2008 - 6:08 am

Government Set to Spend US$2.18 Million to Kick Start US$97.8 Toll Road Project While Seeking a Major Investor. 
NusaBali reports that a 7 kilometer road connecting Serangan Island with the Nusa Dua Peninsula will commence construction in May 2008.
According to the paper, initial funding of Rp. 20 billion (US$2.18 million) has been put in place by the provincial government of Bali to allow the initial construction of the project to proceed.

The object of much discussion and controversy over the past 5 years, the toll-bridge to Nusa Dua now appears set to go as Bali's Department of Public Works prepares to notify their counterparts in Jakarta and commence the preparation of bidding documents.

Meanwhile, private investors for the project are still being sought that will allow the bridge and toll-road to be completed.

Initial work will include feeder roads at both end of the eventual bridge that, when constructed, will transect the entrance to Bali's Benoa Harbor.

Like most projects in Bali, the Serangan toll-road is likely to attract protests and resistance from local religious and environmental groups. Some religious circles within the Bali Hindu community may find the concept of an "overhead" bridge unacceptable, while environmentalist are expected to have problems with the required sacrifice of mangrove forests on Benoa's peninsula.

The total projected cost for the toll road project have now risen to Rp. 900 billion (US$97.8 million) and encompasses a 7 kilometer stretch of road and a 300 meter bridge that could cut the 30-45 minute travel time from Sanur to Nusa Dua to less than 10 minutes. The project calls for a four-lane road of 30 meters width.

Given the substantial financial commitment required for the project, many are questioning the wisdom of embarking on the toll road project in the absence of a firm commitment from an investor capable of completing the job.