Preparing to Welcome the ASEAN Summit
Vice-President Boediono Presents a List Alterations and Improvements to Better Serve the 18 Heads of Stare Expected in Bali for 19th ASEAN Summit
Bali News: Preparing to Welcome the ASEAN Summit
(10/16/2011)
Intense preparations are underway for the 19th ASEAN Summit in Bali, Nov 14-19, 2011.
The event will be headquartered at the recently opened Bali Nusa Dua Convention Center (BNDCC) that will serve as host for meetings to be attended by the various delegations and some 18 heads of state expected in Bali.
Indonesia’s vice-president Boediono visited the island on Tuesday, October 1, 2011, to personally inspect all venues and facilities to ensure their readiness to receive the bevy of world leaders.
Boediono spent substantial time at the BNDCC observing finishing work still underway on the new convention center that will host its first major conference with the coming ASEAN Summit.
Among the last minute alterations and additions requested by the vice-president and the organizers for the coming conference include, increasing the height of perimeter fencing; creation of an emergency gate; construction of VVIP toilets for use by the heads of state; and renovations to the lounge prepared for the president. Other additional work includes the construction of a medical clinic; the provision of additional parking; and the widening of access roads.
Danny Budiharto, the CEO of PT Nusa Dua Indonesia (PTNDI), the managers of the Bali Nusa Dua Convention Center (BNDCC), assured the vice-president that all of the additional works would be completed within one week, well in advace of the coming Summit.
Budiharto is also confident that a media center covering an area of 2,000 square meters on the third floor of the BNDCC will be ready to handle the world media expected to be on hand in Bali.
The BNDCC was built by the Kompas Gramedia Group and has a capacity to host 5,000 people. The facility covers a land area of 70,000 square meters with 25,000 square meters of covered building space. Parking for 600 vehicles is also available.
During his stay, vice-president Boediono also inspected the Ayodya Hotel at Nusa Dua selected for informal meetings between heads of state during the ASEAN Summit, the peninsula at Nusa Dua that will be the site for an ASEAN Fair, and the Bali International Convention Center.
Bali’s governor Made Mangku Pastika told Kompas that he was very confident Bali was prepared for the coming conference. Said Pastika, “Bali is safe, there are no factor delaying our preparations, impeding our stability or the readiness of our personnel.”
Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport has made special parking arrangement to accommodate six wide-body aircraft used by heads of state together with a group of fighter jets from the Indonesian Air Force that will escort the arrival and departure of each official aircraft.
Due to space limitations, some official aircrafts will be deployed to Surabaya for parking, necessitating a short positioning flights to pick up their passengers at the close of the meetings.
Source: Bali Discovery