Jakarta Post reports that Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika has now confirmed that Bali will move ahead with plans to build a second airport near its northern shore. This announcement came after an order from Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla decreeing that the expansion of Bali’s current airport in Tuban must move ahead and be completed by 2011.

Governor Pastika made the announcement following a meeting with the Bali’s Provincial Legislative House of Representatives, telling the press that the plan for a second airport has been endorsed by both the Vice President and the Minister of Culture and Tourism. It is believed that the new airport will be built in the Buleleng Regency.

Those supporting the second airport point to the under-capacity of the Ngurah Rai International Airport and the need to balance development patterns between Bali’s North and South. Experts believe that the presence of an airport in Buleleng would stimulate a surge of tourism development along the northern coast which remains economically depressed in comparison to the southern regions of the Island.

News by Bali Discovery Tours – balidiscovery.com