Overview of the Jimbaran intersection. Cedit: Google maps.
The six hectare land acquisition to complete the Jimbaran/Uluwatu turn off, widening project on the By Pass Road is still a stumbling block in completing the overall airport underpass project. The planned road widening on the north side of the Jimbaran intersection is part of the Simpang Tugu Ngurah Rai underpass project, which has been divided into four sections, and it is only the Jimbaran zone that still hasn’t begun.
The Head of Badung Public Works and Spatial Planning (PUPR), IB Surya Suamba, said to nusabali.com that the land acquisition process is still in litigation at the Denpasar District Courts. As far as he knows, the only problem is the land price. The PUPR has been trying to find a win/win solution, but so far there has been no result. That’s why it has now passed onto the courts.
When asked about the time span of this process, he said he could not give an exact time frame. Suamba promised that they will announce the development of the process as it moves. “I think the only problem is the land price discrepancy, but maybe there is another problem. We will inform the media about any developments and we must follow the applicable rules,” he said.
There are eight land owners impacted by the road widening project that did not approve the proposed price of Rp 1 billion per are, which was set by an appraisal officer. They have asked Rp 2 billion per are, the same price of other land bought for the same project in Tuban.
Previously, a chief officer at Denpasar Metropolitan National Road Implementation Working Unit, I Nyoman Wasara, said that the construction will proceed although the land acquisition of the Jimbaran zone was not finished yet. They hastened the process of the entire project because the road will be used for IMF-World Bank meeting on October 2018.
“The progress of the construction has reached 38 percent. The south side bridge has been used since Friday noon and the traffic has already become smoother according to police. The progress inside the roundabout has been completed and after this we will arrange the landscaping during April,” he said.
