Plan to combat overdevelopment in Indonesia announced: Hotel construction to be banned

12PUNTO FOREIGN NEWS

Indonesia has decided to halt the construction of hotels, nightclubs, and villas in the popular holiday destination of Bali to prevent overdevelopment and protect threatened agricultural land amid rising tourism activity. There is a possibility that the ban could be extended for up to 10 years.

Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Pandjaitan shared in a statement to the media that they may decide to extend the ban for up to 10 years, depending on the government's assessment.

Pandjaitan said, 'We will see later (how long the ban will remain in effect). It could be five years, it could be 10 years. It all depends on the assessment we will conduct.'

The statements came after Bali's acting governor, Sang Made Mahendra Jaya, said on Saturday that he had submitted a proposal to the central government identifying four main regions where construction work would be suspended: Denpasar, Badung, Gianyar, and Tabanan.

Mahendra told reporters that the ban was implemented to curb the proliferation of commercial structures such as hotels, villas, and beach clubs on the island.

There has been an increase in the number of foreign tourists visiting Bali, where tourism activities resumed following the Covid-19 pandemic. According to government figures, the number of foreign tourists visiting Bali between January and July this year was 3.89 million, compared to 2.9 million in the same period last year. There are approximately 4.4 million permanent residents in Bali.

Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Uno stated to the local press, 'Together with the President, we will take concrete steps to ensure that Indonesian tourism is of high quality and can create business opportunities and employment.'