The Mount Rinjani National Park is set to see a cable car or funicular built to better accommodate tourists, which is reportedly scheduled to start construction in December this year. 

"The groundbreaking for the construction of the Rinjani cable car will begin on December 17 in conjunction with the anniversary of the West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) Province," said the Head of the Central Lombok Planning and Regional Assets Agency (Bappeda), Lalu Wiratama on October 25.

The initial plan will see the cable car built from the community forest area in Karangsidmen Village and stretching to the area at the base of Mount Rinjani or not far from the TNGR area.

"The length of the Rinjani cable car is about 10-15 kilometers," said Wiratama.

The location of the cable car will be in the Nuraksa Forest Park, West Rinjani Forest Pemangkuan Area. The endpoint of the cable car track still leaves a two-kilometer flat journey to the top of Rinjani, which stands 3,726 meters above sea level (masl).

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According to Wiratama, the Central Lombok Regency Government and local villages support the construction of the cable car due to the economic impact it will potentially bring to the local economy. The existence of the cable car is said to not interfere with the livelihoods of the porters.

"The local government supports it because the construction of the cable car will not [cause environmental damage] to the TNGR area," said Wiratama. 

The construction of the Mount Rinjani cable car will be financed by Chinese investors with a reported value of Rp100 billion.