Minister Of Transportation Meets South Korean Deputy Minister Of Transportation, Discusses Financing LRT Bali

Minister of Transportation Budi Karya and Minister of Transportation of South Korea (Photo: Ministry of Transportation)

JAKARTA - Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi met with the Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and South Korean Transportation Sangwoo Park. The meeting discussed efforts to resolve the Feasibility Study (FS) and finance the construction of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) mass transportation in Bali.

The meeting between Budi Karya Sumadi and Deputy Minister of Infrastructure, and South Korean Transportation Sangwoo Park took place at the Korea Territorial Development Museum, Seoul, South Korea.

During this meeting, Budi said that the Indonesian government was committed to building urban mass transportation to overcome congestion problems in several parts of Indonesia, one of which was in Bali.

"We will focus on starting the construction of the Bali Phase 1 LRT, from Ngurah Rai Airport to Central Park," he said in an official statement, Wednesday, January 10.

Budi also explained that the government invited South Korea to work together to build the first rail-based mass transportation project in Bali. The Feasibility Study (FS) was carried out by Korea National Railways by financing grants from the Korea Exim Bank.

"The FS started in January 2023, and we are targeting the study to be completed by April 2024," he said.

Furthermore, Budi hopes that the KNR (Korea National Railway), which has good experience and reputation as a rail company in South Korea, can support efforts to resolve FS according to the deadline.

This FS work is not an easy one, because there are many aspects that must be considered starting from technical, financial, and institutional. But we believe this FS can be resolved properly," he said.

Regarding the financing, Budi revealed, the government is still discussing various schemes, including utilizing the Official Development Assistance (ODA) Loan and Public Private Partnership (PPP).

"We ask for the full support of the South Korean government to Eximbank, KNR, and other related parties, so that Bali can enjoy better mass transportation," he said.

In the air sector, Budi also invited South Korea to increase the frequency of direct flights from Korea to Indonesia, especially to Batam and Bali. In addition, Budi also hopes that the cooperation in managing Batam Airport with Incheon from Korea can be increased.