"Batam Introduction" a Pulau Batam Travel Page by shane_02

Batam is relatively a small island, about twice the size of Singapore.

About ten years ago, Batam was relatively unknown to most parts of the world. Back then population was merely about 150,000. Dusty road and simple life for the dwellers.

Batam is strategically located within an international shipping route between the Indian and the Pacific Ocean. It lies only 20 kilometres to the Southeast of Singapore which has one of the busiest seaports in the world. A ferry ride to Singapore takes only 40 minutes. It offers the Indonesian government more avenues to increase the country's revenues as well as to strenghten Indonesia's image as a manufacturing hub for import/export of Indonesian-made products.

Over the years, the government has put a lot of efforts to reduce taxes. It also offers competitive cost of investment due to competitive tariffs on land lease, low labour cost, utilities and other operating costs. The whole island is also dutyfree with no import/export tax on any items. Most importantly, Indonesia's Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement with 51 countries, has prominently placed Batam as international companies' preferred choice to setup up a manufacutring base in this region

For investors or tourists, you can visit the following website for reference.

1). www.batam-center.web.id
2). http://bataminfo.com/welcome.php

Batam can be reached by air from major cities in Indonesia and internationally. Domestic airline companies currently flying to Batam include Garuda Indonesia Airways, Merpati Nusantara, Bouraq Airlines, Mandala Airlines, Jatayu Airlines and several air charter services. Highspeed transport ships also bring visitors to Batam from Singapore, Johor and Jakarta, with hourly services running throughout the day, from various ports around Batam. It also offers ferry services to Pekanbaru, Medan, Palembang and Jakarta from its Sekupang Domestic Ferry Terminal, right next to the Sekupang Internation Ferry Terminal. Due to the proximity of Singapore, most visitors to Batam find that coming by high-speed transport ships is the easiest method of transport.

The Indonesian government's decision to develope Batam as a manufacuring, aviation and telecommunication hub in the region has led to the expansion of Batam. Now Batam is called Barelang. Six new bridges have been built to link Batam with six other islands. The name Barelang is an abbreviated form of Batam, Rempang, and Galang islands. The total area of Barelang is 715 sq.km. Barelang is part of the province of Riau, Indonesia, which is famous as the oil rich province. The capital of the province is the city of Pakanbaru, situated in the mainland Sumatra, about 45 minutes flying from Batam.

The Barelang area is considered as tropical, with average temperatures ranging from 25 to 34 degrees Celsius (77 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit). 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 until October. Average annual rainfall is around 2,600 mm.

Although Malay culture is predominant in the area, population is culturally and ethnically diverse, coming from all over Indonesia as well as from overseas. The population as at December 2000 was 462,528 people, made up of 219,747 males, and 242,781 females. The annual population growth for the past decade has been considerably large, due to the active recruitment of labour by expanding industry.

Despite the diversity in culture and language, Bahasa Indonesia, the national language, is used by the people from the Archipelago. English is taught in many schools, and is increasingly understood by more of the population, particularly in the Barelang area. English is being used more commonly in daily business communication in the region.

This website is still under construction. I am slowly recalling from my past memories and collecting more accurate informations to be uploaded on this website.