Members of Bali’s parliament met in Denpasar to discuss who really controls the island’s territory — the state or business. I Made Supartha, chair of the special commission on spatial planning, assets and permits, said there are cases where a single investor controls dozens of hectares of land. In some instances, the area reaches up to 80 hectares — about the size of a large park or a golf course. This is what fuels the main fear: local residents losing control over their land.
To stop this trend, the authorities have decided to check how the already allocated land is being used. The commission is working with the National Land Agency (BPN). The focus is on plots with HGB status. This is a right to build, under which an investor can use the land and build on it, but the land itself remains state-owned. If such plots lie idle or are used for purposes other than intended, they may be repossessed.
Against this backdrop, another question arises: how investment is working in practice. The commission’s deputy secretary, Dr Somvir, cited figures showing that from 2021 to 2025 around 123 trillion rupiah was invested in Bali. But he said these sums have not yet delivered noticeable results — problems with infrastructure and unplanned development have not gone away.
He gave examples where routes for official delegations had to be planned in advance to avoid spoiling their impression of the island. In his view, if such investment were allocated properly, Bali would look very different.
Somvir also highlighted issues with permits for construction and land use. He said many processes drag on and end up before the commission, even though they could have been resolved at an earlier stage. As a result, the system works slowly, while development remains unplanned and poorly controlled.
At the same time, the authorities are not abandoning their pro-investment course. The commission supports the governor’s policy of Wayan Koster and, together with experts, has already prepared a package of recommendations. These proposals are aimed at bringing order to development, land management and the permits system. However, the recommendations alone change nothing — it now depends on whether the authorities adopt them and actually enforce them in practice.
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