South Korea to carry out road study in Bali
South Korea to carry out road study in Bali
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia and South Korea will soon sign an
agreement for a one-year feasibility study on the road network
improvement in Bali, the Korean embassy says.
The agreement, to be signed by Minister of Public Works
Radinal Moochtar and Korean Ambassador to Indonesia Kyung-Chul
Kim, will allow the Koreans to perform engineering studies on the
newly constructed 15-kilometer outer ring road from Mengwitani to
Batuan in Denpasar and another 20-kilometer road linking Kuta and
Tanah Lot.
"The study will also cover the betterment of the existing road
of 177 kilometers linking Cekik, Singaraja and Amlapura, in
addition to a 129-kilometer road section from Denpasar to
Gilimanuk," the embassy said.
Bong-Hyup Chung, information attache of the embassy, said
yesterday, that the items to be included in the project are a
socio-economic analysis, field survey, traffic and transport
network analysis, preliminary design and environmental impact.
The project, which will be financed by the Korean
International Cooperation Agency (Koica), will cost around
US$720,000, he said.
Start
The project, which is planned to start this month, is expected
to encourage tourism on what is already the overwhelming favorite
destination among travelers.
"However, its existing infrastructure especially the road
networks is still inadequate to cope with the increasing traffic
demand," he said.
Chung said the Korean government has thus far granted a total
of $5.8 million to 10 projects in Indonesia since 1984. They
include, among other things, feasibility studies or detailed
engineering designs for the Pemali river flood control, the
Bukittinggi by-pass road, the by-pass road in Padang, the by-pass
road in Manado, road development for tourists in Toba lake, a
steam power plant in northern Sumatra and swamp development in
South Kalimantan.
"The Korean government financed the $14 million construction
of the Padang by-pass road under the Economic Development
Cooperation Fund," he said, adding that the work of the project
was completed in October last year.
The fund is also currently financing a $25 million mobile
training course for Indonesia's technicians and operators. (fhp)