The toll road is part of an expensive infrastructure overhaul designed to be completed ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in early October. Around 21 heads of state are expected to attend the summit. The overhaul also includes the Rp 2.8 trillion expansion of Ngurah Rai International Airport and the construction of the Dewa Ruci underpass, which cost Rp 136 billion.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has planned to officially open the toll road. Bali hope that the toll road can solve the traffic problem in southern Bali that has become a constant source of complaint from locals and tourists.
A Balinese Hindu ceremony would be conducted before the official inauguration. The ceremony will comprise melaspas (a ceremony to cleanse a new building of bad spirits) and pecaruan (offering ceremony).
The Benoa-Nusa Dua toll road runs for 12 kilometers, a large part of which is along the southern shore, and is claimed to be the most beautiful toll road in Indonesia. The road, which required total investment of Rp 2.5 trillion, will connect Benoa harbor in Denpasar, Ngurah Rai International Airport and the Nusa Dua tourism enclave. It is built on 34,000 concrete pillars.
Bali administration is now considering a name for the road. One proposal is I Wayan Lotring, an artist from Badung regency who lived between 1898 and 1983. Lotring was a grandmaster of Balinese dance and percussion from Kuta, who contributed to the development of Balinese art and culture and passed his knowledge and skills on to the next generations of foreign and local artists. Another name being proposed is Prof Ida Bagus Mantra, the much-beloved former Bali governor. The late Mantra, whose son is now the mayor of Denpasar, initiated the annual Bali Arts Festival, as well as the construction of the Werddhi Budaya Art Center. His name already graces the highway that spans from Tohpati in East Denpasar to Gunaksa in Klungkung.
Motorists will have to pay to use the toll road. However, the tariff is still being discussed. It could be around Rp 2,000 to Rp 4,000 for motorcycles and around Rp 8,000 to Rp 10,000 for cars. Construction of Dewa Ruci underpass, which began in Dec. 2011, is completed this month and is open on a trial basis.
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