LOVE it or hate it, Australians are buying land in Bali and other far-flung Indonesian islands to build villas and resorts - but it's not a venture for the faint-hearted. Take Alan Sinclair.
The Queensland project manager reckons the value of land in Nusa Lembongan, 30 minutes by speedboat off Bali's east coast, has risen 800 per cent in a decade.
Even though the island had no power, sewage or running water, Sinclair took the unprecedented step of developing a luxury villa resort in 2004 - Nusa Lembongan's first and still one of its most luxurious.
"People thought we were stupid, but we were the pioneers of Lembongan," says Sinclair. "We were only ever going to build two villas, but now we have 23 villas and our own four-bed villa."
Sinclair cut his teeth in project management building Noosa's prestige French Quarter residential development in Hastings Street and admits development in Indonesia is not always easy - the resort lost money in its first three years.
But with its six swimming pools, outdoor restaurants and cafes carved into a steep coral hillside overlooking the ocean and Mount Agung in the distance, the resort, called Batu Karang, draws West Australian surfers and is starting to attract Indonesia's middle class. Word of mouth has spread to Sydney and Melbourne. Now that business is booming, Sinclair wants to add another eight villas. "We have land next door, we will wait and see."
Australians continue to buy land on Nusa Lembongan, which has an estimated population of 5000 - and in recent years have picked up coastal sites for a song because the locals believe the poor live on the waterfront. They are happy to sell their coastal land to foreigners and move inland.
Sinclair says Flores, in the Lesser Sunda Islands, is the next place for development, including land banking (where investors amass sites in the hope of selling them at huge profits years down the track), in the Indonesian archipelago to take off. Closer to Bali, the island of Sumba also appeals to Australian land bankers but the Indonesian government is discouraging the practice and will soon mandate land buyers must start building within a specified period.
On remote Sumba Island, beachfront land sells for about $US3 per square metre. On Flores near Labuan Bajo, land costs $US30 to $US60 per square metre.
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The Queensland project manager reckons the value of land in Nusa Lembongan, 30 minutes by speedboat off Bali's east coast, has risen 800 per cent in a decade.
Even though the island had no power, sewage or running water, Sinclair took the unprecedented step of developing a luxury villa resort in 2004 - Nusa Lembongan's first and still one of its most luxurious.
"People thought we were stupid, but we were the pioneers of Lembongan," says Sinclair. "We were only ever going to build two villas, but now we have 23 villas and our own four-bed villa."
Sinclair cut his teeth in project management building Noosa's prestige French Quarter residential development in Hastings Street and admits development in Indonesia is not always easy - the resort lost money in its first three years.
But with its six swimming pools, outdoor restaurants and cafes carved into a steep coral hillside overlooking the ocean and Mount Agung in the distance, the resort, called Batu Karang, draws West Australian surfers and is starting to attract Indonesia's middle class. Word of mouth has spread to Sydney and Melbourne. Now that business is booming, Sinclair wants to add another eight villas. "We have land next door, we will wait and see."
Australians continue to buy land on Nusa Lembongan, which has an estimated population of 5000 - and in recent years have picked up coastal sites for a song because the locals believe the poor live on the waterfront. They are happy to sell their coastal land to foreigners and move inland.
Sinclair says Flores, in the Lesser Sunda Islands, is the next place for development, including land banking (where investors amass sites in the hope of selling them at huge profits years down the track), in the Indonesian archipelago to take off. Closer to Bali, the island of Sumba also appeals to Australian land bankers but the Indonesian government is discouraging the practice and will soon mandate land buyers must start building within a specified period.
On remote Sumba Island, beachfront land sells for about $US3 per square metre. On Flores near Labuan Bajo, land costs $US30 to $US60 per square metre.
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