On Thursday, 2 February 2022, President Joko Widodo formally inaugurated a shortcut connecting the border of Singaraja and Mengwitani in the North Bali Regency of Buleleng.
In a press release from the Office of the President, President Joko Widodo signed a stone marker on the roadside to formally open the 5.68-kilometer highway under construction since 2018 at a total project cost of Rp. 396.7 billion.
![](https://balidiscovery.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/shortcut1-640x360.jpg)
As reported by Kompas.com, the new road reduced the road distance between the two points by 0.87 kilometers. Reducing curves from 50 to only eight and surface-sculpting the maximum slope level to only 6% from a previous high slope of 27% will cut an estimated 45 minutes from the total travel time.
![](https://balidiscovery.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/shortcut2-640x360.jpg)
During his Bali visit, President Joko Widodo stopped at several public markets in Bal to view first-hand local economic conditions, check prices, and symbolically distribute essential goods to the needy. The President visited Pasar Anyar in Singaraja; Pasar Melaya, and a Center for Woven Textiles (Tenun) in the Regency of Jembrana.
In the late afternoon of Thursday, the Presidential entourage departed Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport on RI #1