Batam metropolitan area

Batam metropolitan area Babinka
From top, left to right: Batam City Landscape, Tanjung Balai Karimun Regency Port,Barelang Bridge, Trikora Beach Bintan, Hang Nadim International Airport, Welcome to Batam
Country	Indonesia
Province	Riau Islands
Core city	Batam
Satellite city	Tanjung Pinang
Regencies	Bintan Regency Karimun Regency
Area
• Metro	3,432.7 km^2 (1,325.4 sq mi)
Population  (mid 2023 estimate)
• Urban	1,403,000
• Metro	1,941,225
• Metro density	570/km^2 (1,500/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+7 (Indonesia Western Time)
GDP metro	2023[1]
- Total	Rp 281.732 trillion US$ 18.484 billion US$ 59.196 billion (PPP)
- Per capita	Rp 146.892 million US$ 9,637 US$ 30,864 (PPP)

Batam metropolitan area or officially Batam Raya is a metropolitan area located in Indonesia. This area includes Batam city and its surrounding areas such as Tanjung Pinang city, Bintan Regency, and Karimun Regency. This region of the Riau Islands Province near the Strait of Malacca includes one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. It has an area of 3,432 square kilometres (1,325 sq mi), and in 2023 it had an estimated population of 1,941,225.[2]

Definition

The national government regards the Batam Metropolitan Area as including Batam, Tanjung Pinang, Bintan Regency, Karimun Regency. This area is on the international trade route and is directly adjacent to Singapore and Malaysia. In the region, tax and customs exemptions are applied to boost investment growth.

Demographics

Administrative Region	Area (km^2)	Pop'n 2020 Census	Pop'n 2022 estimate[3]	Density (per km^2) 2022
Batam	1,034.73	1,196,396	1,269,413	1,226.8
Tanjung Pinang	150.37	227,663	239,854	1,595.1
Bintan Regency	1,317.15	159,518	165,781	125.9
Karimun Regency	930.45	253,457	266,177	286.1
Babinka	3,432.7	1,837,034	1,941,225	565.5

Geography

Batam is a roughly oval island with many bays, islets, and peninsulas, located west of Bintan Island, south of Singapore, north of Rempang and Galang, and east of Bulang Island. The Singapore Strait separates Singapore and Batam, while the Riau Strait separates Batam and Bintan island.

Economy

Industrial area in Batam

Under a framework signed in June 2006, Batam, along with parts of neighbouring 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.[4] In 2007, Law No. 44 was enacted to supplement Law No. 36/2000 in establishing Batam as a free trade zone for 70 years.

Tourism

Over 1.5 million tourists visited in 2015.[5] Batam is the third-busiest entry port to Indonesia next to Bali and Jakarta.[6] In 2014, around 58.8% of foreign tourists came from Singapore, 12.8% from Malaysia and 4.2% from South Korea.[7]

Foreign Investment

In the first semester of 2023, the value of foreign investment reached US$1.2 billion, while domestic investment was recorded at US$168 million. Most of the foreign investment came from Singapore.[8]

Infrastructure

Sekupang International Ferry Terminal

Horizon Fast Ferry

Ferries connect Batam to Singapore, Bintan, and Johor Bahru (Malaysia). Five ferry terminals are on the island: Batam Harbour Bay Ferry Terminal, Nongsapura Ferry Terminal, Sekupang, Waterfront City, and Batam Center Ferry Terminal. Connections to Singapore are by way of Harbourfront and Tanah Merah Ferry Terminals run by Singapore Cruise Centre (SCC).[9]

Trans Batam is the most reliable and the cheapest public transportation in Batam. It began to operate in 2005. Trans Batam is the second BRT system in Indonesia, after Jakarta's TransJakarta. The price for one ride is Rp3,000 for students and Rp5,000 for the public. Trans Batam operates from 06:00 to 18:00.[10]

Hang Nadim International Airport is the Batam island's main airport, and has the longest runway of all airports in Indonesia. The airport was the largest airport in the Sumatra region from 1995 to 2012 with a capacity of six million passengers annually, and is now the second-largest in the Sumatra region after Kuala Namu International Airport in Medan, which has a capacity of eight million passengers.[11]

See also

• List of metropolitan areas in Indonesia
• Jakarta metropolitan area
• Medan metropolitan area
• Padang metropolitan area
• Palembang metropolitan area

References

1. Badan Pusat Statistik (2024). Provinsi Kepualuan Riau Dalam Angka 2024. Batam: Badan Pusat Statistik.
2. Official Census in Mid 2022 by Kemendagri
3. Official Census in Mid 2022 by Kemendagri
4. Teo, Laurel (19 May 2007). "Indon SEZ rules ready by end-May; Setting of a deadline likely to please potential investors". The Business Times Singapore.
5. Widayati, Rully (8 January 2016). "Batam Targetkan 1,7 Juta Kunjungan Turis Asing Tahun Ini". Tempo. Archived from the original on 1 July 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
6. "Batam Island – Where Business Meets Pleasure – Indonesia.Travel". indonesia.travel. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
7. "Singapura & Malaysia Penyumbang Wisman Terbanyak ke Batam". batampos.co.id. Archived from the original on 14 June 2018. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
8. Sinaga, Yuni (27 October 2023). "BP Batam records US$1.2 billion foreign investment in January–June". Antara Indonesian News Agency.
9. Lumbantobing, Beres (29 May 2024). "Jadwal Kapal Ferry Batam ke Singapura dan Malaysia dari Pelabuhan Batam Center, Rabu 29 Mei 2024". Tribunnews Batam.
10. Zeni, Azrul (29 May 2024). "Modernisasi Trans Batam, 20 Unit Bus Baru Resmi Beroperasi di Kota Batam". Batam News.
11. Zeni, Azrul. "Daftar Lengkap 10 Bandara Terbesar di Indonesia". Kompas.