One of the largest infrastructure projects of recent years has begun in Bali.
In Jembrana Regency, the upgrade of the Pengambengan National Fishing Port has officially been launched. The project, worth 1.27 trillion rupiah, is funded by the Islamic Development Bank and is scheduled to run until early 2029.
The government has decided to move large-scale industrial fishing out of Benoa Port in Badung Regency entirely. The plan is to clear it completely of the working fleet, unloading operations and the distinctive smell, turning it into a purely tourism and cruise hub that blends in with the surrounding mangrove parks.
All large fishing vessels will be relocated to the far west of the island. As Indonesia's Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Sakti Wahyu Trenggono noted, separating industrial and tourism zones in this way is standard practice worldwide and will allow Bali to develop both sectors without one harming the other.
The scale of the construction in Jembrana is genuinely impressive: the port's land area will grow almost fourfold, from 13.5 to 49.3 hectares, while the water area will expand from 24 to 88.3 hectares.
The upgraded complex will be able to handle up to 1,600 vessels at a time, including the large-tonnage fleet currently served at Benoa. As a result, the annual volume of fish landed in Bali will more than double, from 61,000 to 124,000 tonnes. The project will also create around 25,000 new jobs in processing, logistics and trade.
The site in western Bali was chosen because it opens directly onto the Indian Ocean and is close to the richest fishing grounds, where premium species are caught, above all bluefin and yellowfin tuna.
The new Pengambengan port will be a full-cycle complex: from the quay and deep freezing through to processing and shipping products straight out for export. Smaller operators have not been forgotten either: local traditional fishermen with boats of up to 30 tonnes will be given a separate water area, and a fishing village will be built for them.
Bali Governor Wayan Koster stressed that the project is a long-held ambition of the island's authorities to diversify the economy. Bali wants to reduce its total dependence on tourism by developing the maritime sector and agriculture.
The site of the new port in Pengambengan itself is promised to be modern and clean, with unpleasant smells eliminated completely. Officials expect the facility to become an attraction in its own right, with cafés and restaurants nearby. That should draw travellers to the still largely undeveloped western part of Bali.
You can add one right now!