The regent of Karangasem, I Wayan Geredeg, has negotiated a deal with Korean investors to construct what is touted as the largest golf course in Bali, an investor representative said this week. The 18-hole course is being planned for the Bugbug and Perasi areas and is set to cost some Rp1.4 trillion (US$153 million), and will feature a luxury hotel, said representative Candrawa Gunawa.

Karangasem government spokesman Komang Agus told a news briefing that approximately 124 hectares of farmland would have to be bought to accommodate the megaproject, but would not violate any spatial development laws. Gunawa highlighted the positive effects of the development, saying that 85 percent of the employees would be Indonesian. The investors have also agreed to build a sewage treatment plant, in cooperation with local organizations, to recycle solid and liquid waste from the area.

The project is planned to start construction in April 2009 and be finished in September 2011. I Wayan Sukadana, speaker of the Karangasem House of Representatives, said the Korean developers were welcome. “We will support them, as long as they do not violate any regulations,” he said.

News by The Bali Times – thebalitimes.com