Mossel Bay, Denpasar join hands

Gallery Update Video

MOSSEL BAY NEWS - Mossel Bay officially has twinned with the city of Denpasar in Indonesia. The Mossel Bay Municipality signed a twinning agreement with the city of Denpasar at the Diaz Hotel on Wednesday, 27 November.

The agreement was signed by the mayor of Denpasar, Honourable Ida Bagus Rai Dharmawijaya Mantra and Mossel Bay executive mayor, Alderman Harry Levendal.

Levendal says the twinning agreement will offer both parties the opportunity for long-term collaboration. Denpasar is the capital and main hub of the Indonesian province of Bali.

Street named Denpasar
Because of the agreement, the proposed Mossel Bay Waterfront development will have an Indonesian flavour when the new road that will link Quay 4 with Santos will be named Denpasar Street.

This was revealed on Tuesday, 26 November, when a delegation from Indonesia visited Quay 4 as part of its official visit to Mossel Bay.

Photo gallery: Twinning agreement event at Diaz

"If all goes according to plan, work on the new road will start in 2020 and will see a resurfaced, cobble-stoned street take shape with increased off-street parking," TNPA port of Mossel Bay engineer Gert Ludick said.

Mayor Ida Bagus Rai Dharmawijaya Mantra said that Denpasar would give Mossel Bay a statue for the newly planned Denpasar Street as a symbol of the cooperative agreement between the two places.

Watch a video below:

Talks since 2017 were concluded this week with the signing of an official twinning agreement. The agreement is intended to foster closer relations between Mossel Bay and Denpasar, resulting in specific opportunities to be investigated and expanded on, such as the possibility of beef exports to Indonesia, the development of an oceans economy and opportunities centred on the harbour, as well as tourism-centric opportunities focused on the historical, cultural and gastronomic spheres.

Upgrades
A tangible reference to the twinning agreement will follow shortly when TNPA will properly upgrade the road on Quay 4 to join up with Santos beach.

This upgrade is likely to be the forerunner of the proposed waterfront development and therefore it was considered appropriate to name this road Denpasar, a tourism mecca and well known for its economic development and growth.

Eventually, probably after 2020, construction on the proposed upgraded road will be finished. It is envisaged that the formalised development of a waterfront will then follow, depending on private funders.

Earlier this year, representatives of the two cities planted an indigenous tree as a symbol of building relationships with Indonesia in the garden of the Dias Museum. This week, the delegation visited the tree again.

Ambassador, His Excellency Salman Al Farisi and Mossel Bay executive mayor, Alderman Harry Levendal, shake hands.

Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia for the Republic of South Africa in Pretoria, His Excellency Salman Al Farisi and Ms Ni Nyoman Sri Utari, the head of Trade and Industry in Denpasar enjoyed and shared in the gumboot dances that formed part of the cultural exchanges between the delegations of Indonesia and Mossel Bay.