The marina port development project in the Port of Benoa, Bali, will start on September 18, 2017, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan noted.

Speaking on the sidelines of observing the ship of KRI Banjarmasin 592 at the Port of Benoa on Thursday (August 24), the minister said that such decision is in line with the Port Master Plan and concluded during a coordination meeting with related stakeholders.

According to him, there is no problem in the master plan principles since Balis provincial government, Denpasar city government and Balis Regional Legislative Councils (DPRD) have all agreed to the development.

The development project covers building cruise ship dock, sea dredging around the pier as well as sea channel dredging near the pier with 12 meter depth and 200 meter width.

"With the construction of marina port for large cruise ships, we expect to see an increase of tourist visits from the sea lane," Pandjaitan said.

In addition to building marina area in the Port of Benoa, supporting facilities such as resorts and shopping centers will be also provided to meet the needs of all tourists visiting the Land of Gods.

The port area of Benoa is targeted to be completed before the IMF and World Bank Annual Meeting in November 2018 which is hosted by Indonesia.

"The construction of supporting facilities such as resorts aims on providing an ease for VIP guests or tourists who want to stay longer in Bali, before continuing their journey to other tourism destinations such as Lombok, Labuan Bajo, and East Nusa Tenggara," Pandjaitan said.

Source: ANTARA