The rebuilding of Bali’s southern Port of Benoa into a modern Bali Maritime Tourism Hub (BMTH) is now underway and scheduled for completion by mid-2023.
Balipost.com reports that organizers of the G20 Summit in Bali in November 2022 are planning for the BMTH to be used as a side-venue for the international meeting headquartered in nearby Nusa Dua.
The G20 Summit will attract 6,500 participants from 20 countries, including 38 heads of state and 60 ministers of state delegations.
Ayodhia Kalake, the Deputy for the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment, revealed plans to shine a spotlight on the Benoa Cruise Port during the G20 Summit during a visit to Bali on Tuesday 02 November 2021.
The massive renovation of the Port of Benoa to serve cruise ships and yachts has been declared by the President as a strategic development project to enhance the national tourism industry.
Kalake said, “Welcome to BMTH” will be an official “side-event” of the G20 Summit.
Although the final upgrade of the Port of Benoa will only take place in mid-2023, planners claim the project will demonstrate to world leaders the potential of Bali as a cultural and tourism destination.
In developing the Port of Benoa, the use of local products and equipment has been maximized to the fullest extent possible.
During Kalake’s Bali visit, Ali Sadikin, the CEO of PELINDO for Bali and Nusa Tenggara, praised the port development project and its potential to help Indonesia recover from the pandemic and establish Benoa as a cruise shipping hub.
Before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Benoa hosted more than 100 cruise ship calls per year. The BMTH, according to Sadikin, will stimulate the local economy in Bali and pave the way to the opening of new cruise destinations across the archipelago.
The BMTH will not solely focus on cruise ship visits but also support yacht tourism, the fishing industry, an LPG depot, and a shipping container port.
Improvements at The BMTH will allow ships of a 350-meter length and a 6,000 passenger capacity to berth in South Bali.
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Bali’s Benoa Cruise Port Ready by Mid-2023
