Batam
Top
 |
|
 |
|
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Southeast Asia |
| Archipelago | Riau Archipelago |
| Area | 715 km2 (276.1 sq mi) |
| Country | |
|
Indonesia
|
|
| Demographics | |
| Population | 1.153.860 (as of April 2012) |
| Additional information | |
| Official website | http://www.batamkota.go.id/ |
Batam (Chinese: 巴淡岛; pinyin: badàn dǎo, Malay: Pulau Batam; Jawi: ڤولاو باتم) is a tropical island and largest city in Riau Islands Province of Indonesia, known by foreign investors for its Free Trade Zone, as part of the Sijori Growth Triangle, is located 20 km (12 mi) off Singapore's south coast. The 715 km² (276 miles²) island has a population of 1,153,860 ( April 2012).
|
Contents
|
Geography
Batam is located west of Bintan Island, south of Singapore, north of Rempang and east of Bulan Island. The Riau Strait (Selat Riau) separates Batam and Bintan. Batam has Tropical rainforest climate with average temperatures between 26-32°C.Humidity in the region ranges from 73% to 96%. In general throughout the region, being a wet season from November to April and a dry season from May to October. Average annual rainfall is around 2,600 mm. The local governmental offices reside in Batam Centre. The biggest community on the island is Lubuk Baja (formerly known as Nagoya). Other residential area include Baloi Garden, Sekupang, Nongsapura (Nongsa), Waterfront City (Teluk Senimba), Batu Ampar, Jodoh.
Batam is divided into 12 Sub-districts
- Batam Centre
- Lubuk Baja
- Nongsa
- Sekupang
- Batu Ampar
- Belakang Padang
- Bulang
- Sagulung
- Galang
- Sungai Beduk
- Batu Aji
- Bengkong
Language
Riau Islands is home to various dialects of the Malay and Chinese language. The dominant language used by the Malay population is Riau Malay, on which the national language, Bahasa Indonesia, is based. Riau Indonesian served as a basis for the modern Malay language, which however has extensive additional influence from Javanese, Chinese, Arabic, Dutch and English, among others.
Riau Chinese
The Chinese population (predominantly Hakka, Teochew and Hokkien) in Riau speak some variety of Chinese. For example, the phrase Nee hou mou? in Hakka dialect (lit. 'how are you?') often used in greeting peoples. Due to majority ethnic Chinese are Teochew and Hokkien, most common dialect spoken is Min Nan, this language originated in the southern part of Fujian province in the south-eastern part of China.
Economy
Beginning in the 1970s, the island underwent a significant transformation from a largely forested area into a major harbor and industrial zone. Shipbuilding and electronics manufacturing are important industries on the island. Being close to ports of Singapore increases the speed for goods shipping and product distribution which is benefit to the island's economy, with lower labour costs and special government incentives, it is the site of many factories operated by foreign companies.[1]
Most foreign tourist such as from Japan, China, Taiwan, Korea, US, Germany and Dutch entered the island by using ferries from HarbourFront Centre in Singapore, due to Batam has limited international air flights. At the end of 2010 almost 58 percent of foreign tourists came from Singapore, followed by Malaysia at 13 percent.[2]
Under a framework signed in June 2006, Batam, along with parts of neighboring Bintan and Karimun, are a part of a Special Economic Zone with Singapore; this zone eliminates tariffs and value-added taxes for goods shipped between Batam and Singapore.[3]
Transport
The local ferry terminal ports connect to nearby Singapore and Bintan, and provide additional routes to Johor Bahru (Malaysia). There are five ferry terminals in the island: Harbourbay, Nongsapura Ferry Terminal, Sekupang, Waterfront City and Batam Centre International Ferry Terminal.
Hang Nadim Airport is the island's main airport, and has the longest runway in Indonesia[4]; Domestic flight include Pekanbaru, Palembang and Borneo, with Jakarta as the most important destination.
Twin Cities
See also
References
- ^ "Indonesia President inaugurates Batam free trade zone". Xinhua General News Service. Jan 19 2009.
- ^ http://waspada.co.id/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=194088:singaporeans-constitute-57-pct-of-tourists-in-batam&catid=30:english-news&Itemid=101
- ^ Teo, Laurel (May 19, 2007). "Indon SEZ rules ready by end-May; Setting of a deadline likely to please potential investors". The Business Times Singapore.
- ^ http://www.aircraft-charter-world.com/airports/asia/indonesia.htm
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Batam |
Coordinates: 1°04′N 104°01′E / 1.067°N 104.017°E
|
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:
Copyrights:
Wikipedia on Answers.com
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Batam.
Read more