Bali Airport-to-Canggu Tram Gets Rp2 Trillion, While a Water Taxi Plan Worries Surfers

If you’ve ever sat in traffic between the airport and Canggu, this one’s for you. The government has set aside around Rp2 trillion for Bali’s electric tram, and the state railway company says it should take about two years to build. We’ve pulled together what’s actually been said about the Bali airport tram, and about a separate plan for an airport water taxi that some local politicians aren’t happy with.

The key facts: KAI’s president director, Bobby Rasyidin, said on November 5 that about Rp2 trillion, roughly US$110 million, has been allocated for rail-based transport in Bali. The tram will be built in two phases, first from Ngurah Rai Airport to Legian, then from Legian on to Canggu. No start date was given.

What Was Announced

Rasyidin spoke after meeting President Prabowo in Jakarta on Thursday, November 5, ANTARA reported. The money is for the tram that the Bali provincial government, Badung Regency and KAI agreed on September 1, a battery-powered electric tram running about 12 kilometres. According to the same report, the corridor it will serve carries up to 150,000 people and 80,000 vehicles a day, which goes some way to explaining the traffic.

Governor Wayan Koster said tourist comfort has to be protected and that he hopes the tram will become a new attraction for Bali tourism in its own right. We first wrote about the agreement in September, in our piece on the electric tram from the airport to Canggu.

Why It Matters for Seminyak

When the agreement was signed in September, the plans described a line running from the airport through Kuta, Legian and Seminyak to Canggu, as we reported at the time. Seminyak sits between Legian and Canggu, so it’s the second phase that would reach our part of the island. The latest reports don’t list the stops, though, so we can’t tell you yet how close the tram would come to any particular street.

The September plans also set out a rough timeline: groundbreaking in March 2027, a first section running in 2028, and the full line to Canggu by 2029. They described a slim, battery-powered tram with no overhead cables, taking about 30 minutes end to end with a tram every 10 minutes, and carrying a projected 60,000 passengers a day once it’s fully running. KAI’s new figure of about two years of construction fits broadly with that. Still, big transport projects in Bali have slipped before, as our look at the subway plan showed, so we’d treat every date as a target rather than a promise.

The Water Taxi Plan

The tram isn’t the only transport idea on the table. There’s also a plan for a water taxi from the airport up the coast to Perancak Beach in Berawa. At a Badung council meeting on November 5, I Gede Suraharja, secretary of the Golkar faction, warned that it could damage the surf breaks at Batu Bolong, Berawa and Canggu. “Do not sacrifice a tourism asset that is already world-famous,” he said, according to detikBali (our translation).

The coordinating ministry for infrastructure says the water taxi isn’t final. At least 14 more studies are planned with Udayana University, and the ministry says it won’t be forced through if it’s found to be unfeasible. The site would need more than three hectares, and there are concerns about the Pura Segara temple there and about the 50 to 80 local fishers who work from that stretch of coast.

What We Don’t Know Yet

This week’s reports didn’t confirm a construction start date for the tram, and none of them say what a ride will cost or how often trams will run. For the water taxi, nothing has been decided at all. We’ll keep following both, and we’ll only report a timeline once there’s something official behind it.

Quick Answers About the Bali Airport Tram

How much money is going into it? About Rp2 trillion, roughly US$110 million, according to KAI.

What’s the route? Phase one runs from Ngurah Rai Airport to Legian, and phase two from Legian to Canggu.

When will it open? KAI says construction will take about two years. The plans reported in September pointed to a first section in 2028 and the full line by 2029, but no construction start date was given this week.

Is the airport water taxi going ahead? Not yet. The ministry says it isn’t final and needs more studies.

The Chimera Villas Take

Anything that takes cars off the airport road gets a cautious welcome from us, and one day the tram could make arriving in Seminyak a lot less stressful. Until then, the usual advice stands: give yourself plenty of time for the airport run, especially in the evening. If you’re planning a stay, you can check our villa availability any time.