NEW BY PASS ROADS UNDER COMPLETION

The completion of a 15-kilometre road from Sanur to Sukawati in Gianyar is part of the 23 kilometre By Pass Sunrise Road connecting Sanur and Kusamba in the Klungkung Regency. The by pass road will reduce traffic congestion along the existing road from Denpasar, Sukawati, Gianyar and Klungkung. It will also cut travelling time from Sanur to Klungkung from 90 minutes to 30 minutes. The existing road is considered inadequate to cater for the increasing number of vehicles which have been soaring in the past ten years. In some places, up to 45,000 vehicles use the road each day, far surpassing the average national standard of maximum 20,000 vehicles per day. Sunrise road, as the new by pass is named, will link an area from South Bali in Nusa Dua to the eastern part of the island along the eastern coastline, facing the morning sunrise. The completion of the by pass road will ease tourist vehicles which are currently rushing against trucks and other large vehicles, as the existing road connects Bali's most prominent sea harbours, the Benoa in Denpasar and Padang Bai in Karangasem. Regent of Gianyar, Mr Tjok Gede Budi Suryawan, recently announced that the acquisition of land for the by pass road had been completed and the local government is waiting for additional funds from Jakarta for the development of the road. If the by pass is fully completed, it will cut the travelling time from Denpasar to Klungkung which is now about one hour and a half. Governor Dewa Made Bratha recently visited the project and promised to complete the whole project in the near future. "We have sent a proposal to the government in Jakarta to complete the project in the near future," Governor Bratha said. Proposals on the completion of the road, Governor Bratha said, have been approved by the Indonesian Public Work Department. The project, which began in 1994, also includes the opposite 'Sunset Road' by pass along the western coastline of the island from Kuta to Tanah Lot Temple in Tabanan. The new ring-road system will look like a cob-web with the central point at the Ngurah Rai international airport and both the sunset and sunrise by pass roads forming the outer rings.

TOURISM INCREASES, SAYS DIRECTOR

Bali tourist industry has been increasing over the last year despite the economic crisis, Director of Bali Government tourist office Nyoman Sugiri said in a press conference in Denpasar recently.
"The development was marked with the increasing number of accommodation, restaurants, travel guides, and tourist arrivals," Mr Sugiri said. Mr Sugiri said that in 1998 there were 106 star-rated hotels with a total of 16,697 rooms, 844 non star-rated hotel and smaller accommodation with a total of 13,057 rooms, all making a grand total of 29,754 rooms.
Restaurants and food stalls (rumah makan) also made a significant increase with a total of 46,793 seats available. More guides were speaking other foreign languages with Japanese, Mandarin, German, Italian, French, Spanish, Dutch, Korean, Arabic, Swedish and Russian all coming after English. It was reported that there were 4,413 guides who spoke one foreign language, 137 spoke two languages, 9 spoke three languages, and one guide spoke four foreign languages. Tourist arrival by ferry through Gilimanuk Harbour increased by 5.9 per cent on the previous year with 2,117,058 passengers in 1998 and 1,998,126 in 1997.
On the other hand the air traffic passengers dropped by 22.3 per cent with 1,466,574 in 1998 and as much as l,887,909 in 1997. Overseas tourists spend an average of 9.2days while domestic tourists spends 5.3 days on the island.