REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, DENPASAR -- The construction of an underpass at the Gusti Ngurah Rai Monument crossing in Tuban, Badung District, Bali, is expected to be completed before the International Monetary Fund (IMF) conference in Bali, a senior minister stated.

Maritime Affairs Coordinating Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan noted that related agencies had held a coordination meeting and found a solution to overcome the gridlock in the area.

Traffic jams at the Gusti Ngurah Rai Monument junction often hindered the flow of traffic towards the Ngurah Rai International Airport, thus the underpass is being built, Pandjaitan remarked.

On the occasion, the minister reviewed the warship KRI Banjarmasin at the Benoa Port of Bali on Thursday evening.

He pointed out that the underpass was being built to ease the flow of traffic to and from the airport in the face of the IMF conference in October 2018. The project is expected to be completed before the event is held.

For the construction of the underpass, Rp49.67 billion has been allocated in the 2017 budget and Rp160 billion in the 2018 budget, with total funds allocated for the project amounting to Rp209.7 billion.

Bali's Benoa Port is also being expanded in the face of the IMF meeting.

Early this month, Tourism Minister Arief Yahya stated that the expansion of the Benoa Port is expected to be completed before the IMF and the World Bank meeting on that island in October next year.

The expansion of the port aims to facilitate the docking of cruise ships, Yahya pointed out.

"We hope the expansion and modernization of the port would be completed a year before the IMF and World Bank meeting," he remarked.

The minister said the development of a cruise terminal at the Benoa Port will support the government's efforts to draw more tourist boats to Indonesia.

He said the country has the potential to attract three million passengers arriving aboard foreign tourist boats every year, but so far, the country has recorded only 200 such passengers annually.

The upgradation of the Benoa Port includes the expansion of an international passenger terminal to 4,887 square meters, departure area to 1,238 square meters, and baggage/luggage area to 750 square meters.

The east quay, which originally measured 290 meters, will be expanded to 340 meters. The expansion and modernization of the port aims to accommodate larger ships, including cruise liners, and to attract more tourists to the country.

Currently, the Benoa Port can accommodate only one or two cruise ships.

"After the completion of the project, the port will accommodate cruise ships, with a total passenger capacity of 6,500, which is about the same as the number of the passengers aboard 40 Boeing aircraft," Yahya explained.

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