Sky Garden Bali briefly reopened on 23rd December 2022 but has since been closed again due to permit issues.
This famed Bali nightlife venue located in Jalan Legian, Kuta, Badung, was previously closed due to management problems, tax arrears, and other reasons in 2019. After three years, social media broke the news of its reopening just before Christmas 2022.
“As of today, (23 December 2022) we are open,” explained one of the Sky Garden Bali employees in a video circulating on social media.
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According to the post, Sky Garden Bali opened its third floor from 10pm to 4am local Bali time and visitors of the reopening weren’t charged an entrance fee. A Christmas party notice was also updated on their official social media account as well as the website, www.baliskygarden.com.
Even in front of the establishment, Radar Bali reported that two sets of congratulatory flowers were spotted.
The Head of the Badung One-Stop Investment and Services Agency, I Made Agus Aryawan, claimed he received no official request from the new owner or management of Sky Garden Bali.
“It seems that no one has applied for a permit yet,” said Aryawan.
He emphasised that in order to reopen, the previous cases had to be legally resolved first. Then, whoever has the rights to the land will be examined and all unfulfilled obligations must be completed.
“If all of these obligations have been completed, as long as the requirements to set up a business are set, whether the person behind the business is an Indonesian citizen or a foreigner, they can then apply for a permit. They have to follow the mechanisms and procedures of the laws and regulations,” Aryawan explained.
Head of the Traditional Village of Kuta, Wayan Wasista, admitted that he had been contacted by Sky Garden Bali. However, he had not been able to meet directly with Sky Garden’s management because he was still preoccupied with other matters.
“Whether with a new name or still Sky Garden, I have not received any notification,” explained Wasista. “The important thing is that they follow the rules and don’t disturb the comfort of the people in Kuta.”
However, the Badung Municipal Police has taken action to temporarily close Sky Garden shortly after the reopening. The Head of the Badung Municipal Police, IGAK Suryanegara, paid a visit to Sky Garden on Monday 26th December because the management didn’t submit the licensing documents to his team, which was promised last Friday.
After another visit on Wednesday, 28th December, the management promised to clarify their licensing documents to the regional and provincial governments.
The management had applied for permits online to the Bali provincial government. From the information he received, they received a business identification number (NIB) from the Investment Coordinating Board and the status of the business license is PMA – a foreign investment company.
He also found out that Sky Garden wasn’t under the auspices of the previous PT, but had changed PT to Sky Garden Bali. Related business licensing is now in the realm of the province.
There were 17 types of permits that were originally in the realm of the District Government which were later withdrawn to the realm of the provinces. This is in line with the enactment of Law No. 11 of 2020 concerning Job Creation, regarding Risk-Based Business Licensing.