Bali’s provincial government is setting aside around IDR1.6 billion (US$114,076) to revamp the Besakih Temple complex in Karangasem regency starting next year, with plans to build new food stalls and a parking facility in tow.
“All this time we lacked earnestness in taking care [of Besakih Temple] that now it’s become less pristine because it’s crowded, chaotic and dirty. These things are affecting the purity and sanctity of Besakih,” Bali Governor I Wayan Koster said yesterday, as quoted by Detik.
The revitalization project is set to start in 2020, with wrap-up scheduled for 2022. Koster said funding will be sourced from Bali’s regional budget (APBD) and the national budget (APBN).
This project includes repairs of the shrines and temples, as well as the development of a four-level parking facility, which will supposedly fit thousands of motorcycles and cars, and hundreds of buses. Furthermore, the government also plans on prohibiting street vendors in the area and instead reorganize them into stalls and kiosks that will be built.
“The estimated cost of IDR1.6 billion for the development is what we have for the time being. This includes all the infrastructure development, which we will do step by step in the span of three years,” Koster said, adding that the amount has yet to take into account the cost of building the new parking facility.
Besakih Temple is located on the slopes of Mount Agung in eastern Bali, and is considered one of the most important and holiest Hindu temples on the island.