<\/p>\n
\nThe timeline for removing the construction is unclear, if the project is cancelled.
\nPhoto: ABC News \/ Tim Swanston\n<\/p>\n
The panoramic view from the top of the cliffs at Nusa Penida’s Kelingking Beach is nothing short of iconic.<\/p>\n
The steep, tree-covered cliffs, the vibrant blue waves that crash at the base and a land mass that resembles the outline of a t-rex.<\/p>\n
Thousands flock here daily to take in the beauty and snap social media photos, while a brave few take the steep hike down to the beach.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\nMany tourists are deterred by the 30-minute walk to the bottom of Kelingking Beach.
\nPhoto: ABC News \/ Tim Swanston\n<\/p>\n
A new addition to the view has locals and tourists in an uproar, deeply dividing many along Bali’s tested fault line – development versus environmental conservation.<\/p>\n
Rising from the beach is the towering construction of a 182m glass lift, with its supports buried into the cliff face.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\nA drone shot captures the construction site at Kelingking Beach.
\nPhoto: ABC News \/ Tim Swanston\n<\/p>\n
Construction has been ongoing for more than 18 months, but this week, Bali’s provincial government took the extraordinary step of suspending the works, as it assessed the permits at the heart of the project.<\/p>\n
It has left the beach, once voted one of the world’s most beautiful, in limbo.<\/p>\n
“It breaks my heart,” Bali-based independent national senator Niluh Djelantik said.<\/p>\n
“The beauty is being taken away\u2026 there’s nowhere else in the world like here.<\/p>\n
“The local authorities need to ask themselves, ‘What are we doing to our mother?'”<\/p>\n
Considerable online criticism<\/p>\n
The lift was sold as a way to get down to the beach, with the current alternative being a steep, rickety pathway that can take hours with the return trip.<\/p>\n
The decision to suspend construction came shortly after considerable online criticism of the lift, with pictures of the construction protruding into the iconic view going viral.<\/p>\n
The development is reportedly being completed by China Kaishi Group, although a sign at Kelingking Beach indicated it was the PT Indonesia Kaishi Tourism Property Investment Development Group.<\/p>\n
ABC News has not been able to make contact with the company.<\/p>\n
Bali’s regional spatial planning, assets and licensing committee decided to halt the works, claiming the “permit process wasn’t done properly”.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\nMade Krisna Dinata is worried about the environmental impacts of the lift.
\nPhoto: ABC News \/ Tim Swanston\n<\/p>\n
Committee head I Made Supartha said the company sought approval from the local Klungkung Regency, rather than the district.<\/p>\n
“According to spatial planning concepts, that’s not really the right place for a glass lift,” he said.<\/p>\n
“The lift starts from a high elevation, so both provincial and central government studies should have been done.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\nNiluh Djelantik said the beach’s beauty was being taken away.
\nPhoto: ABC News \/ Tim Swanston\n<\/p>\n
“There were also some deceptive moves made to make it look [like] the authority rested with the Klungkung Regency.”<\/p>\n
The fact that the permits for the project are only being examined now, months after construction began, has raised a few eyebrows.<\/p>\n
“We will send an official letter to those involved,” Senator Djelantik told the ABC.<\/p>\n
“We don’t need to build this – we need to build a beautiful road, access, public facilities, clean water, schools, healthcare\u2026 things that benefit the island and the happiness of our people.”<\/p>\n
Tourists dismayed<\/p>\n
“It’s the most beautiful landscape we’ve ever seen, but this elevator ruins it,” French tourist Pauline said.<\/p>\n
“It’s ruining this photographic spot\u2026 and creating a huge impact,” Indian tourist Arun told the ABC.<\/p>\n
“I think it’s destroying the nature, it would be nice to keep this place as it is and not making it touristic,” Daniela from Germany said.<\/p>\n
Some see the lift as a way to increase revenues in Kelingking and Nusa Penida, an island 45 minutes by boat from Bali.<\/p>\n
Kadek Yartini works at a restaurant, or warung, near the top of the cliffs.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\nKadek Yartini hopes the lift will bring in more business.
\nPhoto: ABC News \/ Tim Swanston\n<\/p>\n
She said that, while the construction is busy, she hoped it would bring in more business, once it was complete.<\/p>\n
“Right now, we don’t really have many customers. Once it’s done, we might get more visitors.<\/p>\n
“Personally, I’m happy about the lift\u2026 we’ll hopefully get more sales and more customers. I want this warung to be busier.”<\/p>\n
Environmental and aesthetic concerns<\/p>\n
Bali district planning officials have also said that environmental and aesthetic concerns are behind the suspension.<\/p>\n
“They’re basically trying to sell a tourist destination,” I Made Supartha said.<\/p>\n
“According to Bali’s tourism regulations, what defines a tourist destination here isn’t modern structures, it’s Balinese culture, traditions and the natural beauty.<\/p>\n
“These so-called ‘selling points’ – modern tourism facilities built purely for private business interests – can’t just be tolerated in Bali.”<\/p>\n
So far, the district government has only committed to reviewing the permits and summoning the company, along with the regency, for answers.<\/p>\n
If the project is cancelled, it remains to be seen who would foot the bill and the timeline for removing the construction.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n“There’s nowhere else in the world like here,” Niluh Djelantik said.
\nPhoto: ABC News \/ Tim Swanston\n<\/p>\n
Environmental groups have fought against the lift for a long time over degradation concerns, erosion fears and safety risks.<\/p>\n
“The landscape is extremely fragile and vulnerable,” Made Krisna Dinata from environmental NGO Walhi Bali said.<\/p>\n
“When you add infrastructure in an area like that – for instance, a 180m-tall glass lift – you’re talking about potentially uncontrollable environmental impacts down the line.<\/p>\n
“They can claim they’ve done technical assessments and environmental studies all they want, but if those reports are done properly and objectively, I don’t see how they could realistically show credible disaster or ecological mitigation plans.<\/p>\n
“All they’re really doing is creating more risks for visitors.”<\/p>\n
The lift is an example of a key debate gripping Bali: as tourism surges, what balance of development and preservation is right, and what appropriate regulatory oversight is being applied?<\/p>\n
More than 6.3 million foreign visitors are expected to visit this year, likely to pip annual records.<\/p>\n
A moratorium was issued in recent months over developments in agricultural land, after shocking and deadly floods killed several people on the island.<\/p>\n
Many argue Bali is a victim of its own success, with the island’s role in the popular book and film Eat, Pray, Love never far from the minds of many locals.<\/p>\n
“Love is supposed to make you happy, not kill you,” Senator Djelantik said, overlooking the construction of the lift.<\/p>\n
“This is not love, this is an abuse, this is pure greed.<\/p>\n
“At the end of the day, we as Balinese have to take the consequences.”<\/p>\n