A high-profile court-ordered demolition of the 180-meter glass lift at Kelingking Beach, Bali, remains stalled, raising questions about the order’s enforcement as the incomplete structure still dominates the cliff.
The lift and its developers were ordered to dismantle the lift and restore the cliff face to its original, untouched, pristine condition. The Developers were given a deadline for the demolition of Saturday, 23 May 2026, which has come and gone with no effort to remove the glass lift.
Whether the court-ordered demolition will be carried out is now before the State Administrative Court (PTUN), awaiting final adjudication. The original investor in the Kelingking Beach Glass Lift, PT Indonesia Kaishi Tourism Property Investment Development Group, a Chinese investment group, has filed a rebuttal lawsuit after being deemed to have violated spatial planning and environmental sustainability regulations.
Meanwhile, Bali Provincial Officials have chosen to allow the legal process to run its course rather than enforce the hardline demolition order. The Head of the Bali Provincial Civil Service Police Unit (Kasatpol PP), I Dewa Nyoman Rai Dharmadi, confirms that the government has chosen, at least temporarily, to refrain from removing the lift.
Dharmadi says the physical execution or forced demolition measures will only be taken after a final and binding court decision (inkrah) is announced. “We’re waiting for the PTUN court decision, which will be final and binding on all parties. This process is ongoing. The lawsuit is ongoing before the PTUN Court,” explained Rai Dharmadi on Tuesday, 19 May 2026.
Accordingly, Rai Dharmadi emphasized that, for the time being, the Nusa Penida glass Elevator Project remains in a status quo. He underlined that the Bali Provincial Government remains committed to respecting every stage of the judicial process. “If there is a decision, that means we respect what has become a tool of the court. Wait for the process to complete. Only then will we prepare the next steps based on the final and binding court decision. So for now, the status is status quo,” he explained.
Rai Dharmadi dismissed public speculation that there was any hesitation or fear in enforcing the Regional Regulations (Perda) ordering the demolition of commercial buildings in Bali tourist areas. According to Rai, all disciplinary actions must be based on compliance with state administrative law, not simply on whether officials dare to demolish. Administratively, we can resolve it, because that has been stipulated in the lawsuit in the court process,” he said.
Continuing, he explained that the May 23, 2026, deadline was initially set as the final deadline for the instruction on independent demolition and cliff reconditioning. However, that note only applies if there are no legal challenges from the developer. Once the lawsuit is officially filed, the situation automatically changes. Rai Dharmadi then compared the Kelingking Beach glass lift case with a similar case of spatial planning violations that occurred in the Sental area. At that time, the execution process took a year to reach legal certainty.
”If there had been no lawsuit, it would have been different. Just as in Sental, which took over a year, we only carried out the execution after a court ruling. That’s our legal mechanism,” he concluded.
PT Indonesia Kaishi Tourism Property Investment Development Group
PT Indonesia Kaishi Tourism Property Investment Development Group is a Chinese investor in the glass elevator project at Kelingking Beach. They are suing the Bali Provincial Government in response to the demolition ordered by the Province, where is is claimed that the project violated spatial planning permits and threatened the environmental sustainability of Nusa Penida.
The current lawsuit represents the second legal challenge. The investor’s first legal effort failed on a technicality linked to basic administrative issues. In the first challenge, the PTUN panel of judges found that the investor’s power of attorney was not legally binding. Head of the Legal Bureau of the Bali Provincial Secretariat, Ngurah Satria Wardana, revealed that the absence of the authorized director’s signature was the reason the first lawsuit was deemed legally flawed.
”In the process, it was ensured that the object of the dispute was correct in the form of a concrete decision letter. There, it was checked, and finally, it was discovered that there wasn’t a valid power of attorney from the plaintiff that was signed by someone with the authorized legal standing,” explained Ngurah Satria Wardana.
The Chinese Investor withdrew the first flawed lawsuit within a week. A few days later, a new lawsuit was refiled based on the same disputed material, but revised to include the formal requirements that had previously been determined to be legally flawed.
As a result of this new lawsuit, the Bali Satpol PP‘s initial firm instruction to immediately dismantle the building structure and return the cliff to its original position is now on hold. Under Indonesian state administrative law, the object of the dispute cannot be physically altered while the judicial appeal process is still ongoing. Ngurah Satria emphasized that the regional government’s current position is fully bound by judicial rulings. “Whatever the decision is, it will be implemented. So all letters from the Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) stating that the cliffs must be dismantled and reconditioned are temporarily on hold, as the legal process is still ongoing in court.”
The Chinese investor’s legal action against the Bali Provincial Government demonstrates the foreign investor’s commitment to preserving the value of their investment in the Nusa Penida tourism sector.
Furthermore, the Bali Provincial Government’s assertiveness sets an important precedent in enforcing spatial planning regulations in critical tourist areas.
”We are ready to provide evidence regarding the grounds for the revocation of the permit and the demolition order,” stated Ngurah Satria.
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