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Balikpapan
City
City of Balikpapan .mw-parser-output .nobold{font-weight:normal} Kota Balikpapan
From top, left to right: The Plaza Balikpapan, Bekapai Park, Refinery monument, At-Taqwa Mosque, Balikpapan Dome, and Waterfront Skyline of Balikpapan
Seal
Etymology: id: Balik (Behind) and Papan (Plank)
Nicknames:  id: Balikpapan Kota Beriman (Balikpapan, City of Believers)
Motto(s):  bjn: Gawi Manuntung Waja Sampai Kaputing (Hard Work until Finish)
Anthem: Hymne Balikpapan
Interactive Map of Balikpapan
Balikpapan Balikpapan Location Show map of Kalimantan Balikpapan Balikpapan (Indonesia) Show map of Indonesia Balikpapan Balikpapan (Asia) Show map of Asia Balikpapan Balikpapan (Earth) Show map of Earth
Coordinates: 1°16′36.5″S 116°49′39.8″E / 1.276806°S 116.827722°E / -1.276806; 116.827722Coordinates: 1°16′36.5″S 116°49′39.8″E / 1.276806°S 116.827722°E / -1.276806; 116.827722
Country	Indonesia
Region	Kalimantan
Province	East Kalimantan
Established	10 February 1897
Government
• Type	Kota
• Body	City of Balikpapan Government
• Mayor	Rizal Effendi
• Vice Mayor	Rahmad Mas'ud
Area
• Total	503.3 km2 (194.3 sq mi)
Elevation	52 m (171 ft)
Population (2015)
• Total	736,806
• Density	1,500/km2 (3,800/sq mi)
Demographics
• Ethnic groups	List Javanese, Dayak, Banjar, Bugis, Makassar, Minangkabau, Batak, Malay, Madurese
• Religion[3]	Islam 89.50% Protestanism 7.51% Catholic 1.78% Buddhism 0.95% Hinduism 0.12% Confucianism 0.01% Others 0.01%
Time zone	UTC+8 (WITA)
Postal Code	List 76111, 76112, 76113, 76114, 76115, 76116, 76117, 76118, 76119, 76121, 76122, 76123, 76124, 76125, 76126, 76127, 76128, 76129, 76131, 76132, 76133, 76134, 76136[1]
Area code(s)	(+62) 542
Vehicle registration	KT
HDI (2017)	0.790 (High)[2]
Airport	Sepinggan International Airport
Website	balikpapan.go.id

Balikpapan is a seaport city on the east coast of the island of Borneo, in the Indonesian province of East Kalimantan. Two harbors, Semayang and Kariangau (a ferry harbour), and Sultan Aji Muhammad Sulaiman Airport are the main transportation ports to the city. Balikpapan is the industrial, transportational, commercial and financial center of Kalimantan.^[4][5] The city has a population of 736,806;^[6][7] making it the second most populous city in East Kalimantan, after Samarinda.

The old Balikpapan was a group of Bugis scattered fishing villages that was part of the Kutai Kertanegara Sultanate until late 19th century. Balikpapan's toponym (balik = "behind" and papan = "plank") is from a folk story in which a local king threw his newborn daughter into the sea to protect her from his enemies. The baby was tied beneath some planks that were discovered by a fisherman. At any other stories, Balikpapan's toponym ("balik" = "behind" and "papan" = "plank") is from an event that Kutai sultanate, Sultan Muhammad Idris, sent 1000 planks to aid the Paser Kingdom to build a new palace. The planks were shipped from Kutai to Paser through Borneo shorelines by roping all the planks together. 10 out of 1000 planks that originally shipped was drawn and resurface to a place where currently called as Balikpapan.^[8]

On 10 February 1897, the first oil drilling began in Balikpapan in a location that is now known as the Mathilda oil well. The date of this first oil drilling was then set as the anniversary of Balikpapan. In 1899, the Dutch Indies colonial administration gave the township’s official status to Balikpapan. Later on, since 1907, Bataafsche Petroleum Maatschappij (BPM), a subsidiary of the Royal Dutch Shell oil company, made Balikpapan as its headquarters and imported skilled labourers, engineers and managers from overseas. Following this, numerous multi-national companies came to Balikpapan to invest in the oil industry. This resulted in the economy and the social structure of the village growing immensely. Consequently, Balikpapan transformed into most important city in Kalimantan, with several industrial facilities, including an airport and modern seaport; it also provided basic services to temporal expatriates and local residents.^[8]

During Second World War, Empire of Japan occupied the city in 1942, as part of the occupation of Indonesia, and it was bombed by the Allies in first Balikpapan Battle in 1942 and second battle in 1945. The battles impacted critical infrastructure, including the oil refinery stations and the seaport, were completely burned to ground. Although Dutch colonization in Indonesia ended after WWII, with the independence of Indonesia on 17 August 1945, BPM extended its activities in Balikpapan until 1965. In 1965, Pertamina, the Indonesian state-owned oil company, took control over the ownership of BPM in Balikpapan, together with its refinery facilities and some of its oil exploration activities.^[8]

In the late 1990s, Indonesia’s oil production especially oil refinery of Balikpapan declined due to the natural maturation of the existing oil fields. This was combined with a slower reserve replacement rate and a lack of investment to seek new potential oil reserves.^[9]

Balikpapan still has primary rainforest habitat and is the location of a number of different animal conservation charities.

Etymology and nicknames

There are several popular stories and legends explain the origin of Balikpapan:^[10][11]

• The 10 pieces of board returned to Jenebora from the 1,000 pieces requested by the Sultan of Kutai as donations of building materials for the construction of the New Kutai Palace. The ten boards that were returned were referred to by the people of Kutai Balikpapan Tu. So that the area along Balikpapan Bay, precisely in Jenebora is called Balikpapan.^[12]
  


• Tribe of Pasir Balik (native people of Balikpapan) is a descendant of grandfather and grandmother named Kayun Kuleng and Papan Ayun. So that the area along Balikpapan Bay by its descendants is called Kuleng-Papan or means Balikpapan (in Paser, Kuleng means Balik).^[11]
  


• In other legends it is also mentioned the origin of Balikpapan, namely from a daughter who was released by her father a king who did not want his daughter to fall into the hands of the enemy. The daughter who was still a toddler was tied up on several pieces of board in a state of lying. Because it was carried away and hit by waves, the board was reversed. When the board was stranded on the shore found by a fisherman and so it turned out that there was a daughter who was still bound. It is said that the princess was named Putri Petung who came from the Kingdom of Sand. So that the area where it was found was called Balikpapan.^[11]
  

The city has had several nicknames throughout its history such as the Oil City, City of Believers (Kota Beriman, which uniquely "BERIMAN" word is accronym from: BERsih (clean), Indah (magnificent), dan nyaMAN (comfortable).^[13]

History

Bataafsche Petroleum Maatschappij oil refinery, 1910s

Before the oil boom of the early 1900s, Balikpapan was an isolated Bugis fishing village. Balikpapan's toponym (balik = "behind" and papan = "plank") is from a folk story in which a local king threw his newborn daughter into the sea to protect her from his enemies. The baby was tied beneath some planks that were discovered by a fisherman. At any other stories, Balikpapan's toponym ("balik" = "behind" and "papan" = "plank") is from an event that Kutai sultanate, Sultan Muhammad Idris, sent 1000 planks to aid the Paser Kingdom to build a new palace. The planks were shipped from Kutai to Paser through Borneo shorelines by roping all the planks together. 10 out of 1000 planks that originally shipped was drawn and resurface to a place currently called as Balikpapan.

Oil development

On 10 February 1897,^[14] a small refinery company, Mathilda, began the first oil drilling.^[15] Building of roads, wharves, warehouses, offices, barracks, and bungalows started when the Dutch oil company Bataafsche Petroleum Maatschappij (BPM) arrived in the area.

Second World War

Battle of Balikpapan (1945)

On 24 January 1942, a Japanese invasion convoy arrived at Balikpapan and was attacked by four United States Navy destroyers that sank three Japanese transports.^[16] The Japanese army landed and after a sharp but short fight defeated the Dutch garrison.^[17] The defenders had partially destroyed the oil refinery and other facilities.^[17] After this the Japanese massacred many of the Europeans they had captured.^[18] Several campaigns, including the longest bombing run so far, followed until the 1945 Battle of Balikpapan, which concluded the Borneo campaign by which Allied Forces took control of Borneo island. Extensive wartime damage curtailed almost all oil production in the area until Royal Dutch Shell completed major repairs in 1950.

CIA air raid

In 1958 the CIA attacked Balikpapan and stopped oil exports. The US was running a CIA covert mission to undermine President Sukarno's government by supporting right-wing rebels in Indonesia. The CIA, Taiwan and the Philippines had provided the Permesta rebels in North Sulawesi with an insurgent air force, the Angkatan Udara Revolusioner (AUREV). On 28 April 1958 a CIA pilot, William H. Beale, flying a B-26 Invader bomber aircraft that was painted black and showing no markings,^[19] dropped four 500 lb (230 kg) bombs on Balikpapan. The first damaged the runway at Sultan Aji Muhammad Sulaiman Airport, the second set the British oil tanker SS San Flaviano on fire and sank her^[20][21][22] and the third bounced off the British tanker MV Daronia without exploding.^[23] Beale's fourth bomb set on fire and sank the Indonesian Navy Bathurst class corvette KRI Hang Tuah, killing 18 crew and wounding 28.^[23] Before attacking Hang Tuah, Beale also machine-gunned the oil pipes to Shell's wharf.^[23]

The CIA had orders to attack unarmed foreign merchant ships in order to drive foreign trade away from Indonesia and weaken its economy, with the intention of undermining Sukarno's government.^[23] The day before attacking Balikpapan, Beale had also damaged a Shell complex at Ambon, Maluku.^[24] His Balikpapan raid succeeded in persuading Shell to suspend tanker services from Balikpapan and withdraw shore-based wives and families to Singapore.^[21] However, on 18 May Indonesian naval and air forces off Ambon Island shot down an AUREV B-26 and captured its CIA pilot, Allen Pope.^[25][26] The US immediately withdrew support for Permesta, whose rebellion rapidly diminished thereafter.

Subsequent history

Shell continued operating in the area until Indonesian state-owned Pertamina took it over in 1965.^[15] Lacking technology, skilled manpower, and capital to explore the petroleum region, Pertamina sublet petroleum concession contracts to multinational companies in the 1970s.^{[citation needed]}

With the only oil refinery site in the region, Balikpapan emerged as a revitalized centre of petroleum production. Pertamina opened its East Borneo headquarters in the city, followed by branch offices established by other international oil companies. Hundreds of labourers from Indonesia, along with skilled expatriates who served as managers and engineers, flocked into the city.^{[citation needed]}

Administration

Balikpapan is bordered by Kutai Kartanegara Regency to the North, by the Makassar Strait to the South and East, and by North Penajam Paser Regency to the West.

The city is divided into five districts (kecamatan), tabulated below with their 2010 Census population:^[27]

Subdistricts (Kelurahan)

Balikpapan is divided into 34 subdistricts (kelurahan):

Demographics

During the Suharto dictatorship Balikpapan achieved unprecedented economic growth by attracting foreign investments, particularly in the exploitation of natural and mineral resources. The policy was heavily criticized for uncontrolled environmental damage and corrupt bureaucrats and politicians, but it significantly boosted urban development in resource-rich cities. In the 1970s Balikpapan experienced 7% population growth annually, while exports of timber and petroleum increased dramatically.^[15]

Indonesian Most Liveable City

Based on Indonesian Most Liveable City Index which measured 27 indicators in every 2 years, Balikpapan is the best city for living in 2013 and toppled Yogyakarta as the best in 2011 and 2009. Balikpapan mainly maintained city management aspects and environment wellbeing.^[28] As part of the Earth Hour City Challenge, the city of Balikpapan, Indonesia was recognized as the Most Loveable City for 2015. In 2016, Balikpapan was nominated for the second time as the most lovable and sustainable city, pending final judgement.

Economy

Balikpapan oil refinery in 1988

Some multinational corporations operate in East Borneo. Companies including Baker Hughes (US), ChevronTexaco (US), Halliburton (US), Pertamina (Indonesia), Schlumberger (France), Thiess (Australia), Total S.A. (France) and Weatherford International (US) use Balikpapan as their base of operations in the region. Governmental public services including Bank Indonesia, the Finance Department, Angkasa Pura 1,^[29] the Port of Semayang, and several others also attract many people to work in this area.

Balikpapan has been chosen as the site of some important governmental agencies such as Komando Daerah Militer VI Tanjungpura and Kepolisian Daerah Kaltim.^[30]

Balikpapan oil refinery is on the shore of Balikpapan Bay and covers an area of 2.5 square kilometres (1 sq mi). Founded in 1922, it is the oldest refinery in the area. The Allies destroyed it in the Second World War and Shell re-built it in 1950. The refinery has two subunits, Balikpapan I and Balikpapan II.

Balikpapan I has two raw oil refinery units that produce naphtha, kerosene, gasoline, diesel fuel, and residue and one high-vacuum unit that produces 100 tonnes (110 tons) of paraffin oil distillate (POD), used as raw material for wax factories. The wax itself has various grades and is sold domestically and internationally.

Opened on 1 November 1983, Balikpapan II has a hydro-skimming and hydro-cracking refinery and produces petrol, LPG, naphtha, kerosene, and diesel fuel.

Indonesian government and their Pertamina planning as for 2017 expanding the oil refinery including the area of Persiba Balikpapan FC (old) stadium and Pertamina residents near the refinery. Balikpapan's Major Rizal Effendi ask for primarily using Balikpapan peoples as worker that Pertamina needed up to 20.000 new employers.

Geography

The municipality of Balikpapan's topography is generally hilly (85%), with only small areas of flat land (15%), mostly along the coast and surrounding the hilly areas. The hills are less than 100 metres (330 ft) higher than the adjacent valleys. The altitude of Balikpapan ranges from 0 to 80 metres (260 ft) above sea level. The city proper itself is located on eastern side of Bay of Balikpapan.

Most of the soil in Balikpapan contains yellow-reddish podsolic soil and alluvial and quartz sand, making it extremely prone to erosion.^[31]

Climate

Balikpapan features a tropical rainforest climate (Af) as there is no real dry season in Balikpapan. The city sees an average of 2,400 millimetres (94 in) of rain per year. Balikpapan generally shows little variation in weather throughout the course of the year. The city does not have significantly wetter and drier periods of the year and average temperatures are nearly identical throughout the course of the year, averaging about 26 to 27 degrees Celsius throughout the year.^[32]

Transport

Sepinggan Airport, one of the busiest airport in Indonesia

Balikpapan is served by Sultan Aji Muhammad Sulaiman Airport, which was previously known as Sepinggan airport. The airport has capacity to serve 10 million passengers per year, as well as hospitality (immigration, passenger convenience, company reps offices, restaurants, shopping, lodging, and many others). The airport is equipped with 11 aerobridges, a transit hotel, and four-level parking garages.^[38][39] Sepinggan airport was named the second best in service in the world for airports with annual handling capacity of 5 million to 15 million passengers in 2018 awarded by Airports Council International.^[40] Airlines that use this airport to serve domestic routes are Lion Air, Sriwijaya Air, Citilink, and Garuda Air. The only international airline serving the airport is Silk Air, connecting Balikpapan to Singapore while Air Asia ceased operations in 2016.

The airport is one of the twelve principal locations near Indonesia used by Muslims on their Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.^[41] In 1996–97 the airport served over 4,500 East Borneo pilgrims and in 1997–98 it served pilgrims from East Borneo, South Kalimantan, Central Sulawesi, and North Sulawesi.^{[citation needed]}

In addition to its airport Balikpapan also has Semayang seaport. It serves commercial boats to many destinations to Indonesia including Jakarta, Makassar, Manado, Pare Pare and Surabaya. In the 1990s maritime transport was very popular. Today, due to more affordable and efficient airplane travel, more people choose to fly. Taking the ferry is a main choice for traveling to Penajam.

Kariangau Seaport was built to serve containers and all other industrial needs. It is located in km.13, as part of Kariangau Industrial Estate.^[42]

The large coal loading port of Tanjung Bara (TBCT) lies about 180 kilometres to the north of Balikpapan.^[43]

Balikpapan is connected by Trans-Kalimantan Highway Southern Route. From Balikpapan to Samarinda, the highway runs in parallel with the first controlled-access expressway in Borneo, the Samarinda-Balikpapan Expressway, which is now under construction, and expected to be operational by the end of 2018.^[44]

Tourism

As a coastal city, Balikpapan has many beaches, including Manggar Beach, Segara Beach, Monument Beach, Kemala Beach, and Brigade Mobile Beach near the police academy. Melawai Beach is the most popular for local citizens.

Balikpapan is a departure point for nature tourism. There are wildlife exhibits nearby, such as the Samboja Lestari orangutan conservancy, a sun bear sanctuary, and a crocodile breeding park at Lamaru.

There is also a well-known forest site which has been developed for visitors at Bukit Bangkirai rainforest, about 45 minutes by car from Balikpapan.

A mangrove forest at Kariangau is a worthwhile tourist attraction at Balikpapan. There are still some Japanese artillery sites from World War II, and there is a military monument at Kampung Baru.

Panorama of Kemala Beach.

Balikpapan Botanical Garden

It is the first Botanical Garden in Kalimantan as a part of Hutan Lindung Sungai Wain (Wain River Conservation Forest) with total area 10,000 hectares and still has orangutan, sunbear, deer and some endemic Kalimantan birds.^[45] Balikpapan Botanical Garden, which is located at kilometer 15 on Jalan Soekarno Hatta, was officially opened on 20 August 2014. It has 1,200 types of lowland hardwood trees, covers 309.22 hectares and is known as the "green open space" of the city.^[46] At the opening ceremony, Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan expressed the hope that the Botanical Garden would rival Gardens by the Bay in Singapore.^[47]

Shopping

As one of the fastest developing cities in the nation, Balikpapan has been supported by the rise of shopping centers. There are six major shopping malls in town which are Plaza Balikpapan, Balikpapan Superblock, Pentacity Mall Balikpapan, Balcony City, Mall Fantasy in Balikpapan Baru, and Plaza Kebun Sayur.^[48]

References

Sources

• 
  Conboy, Kenneth; Morrison, James (1999). Feet to the Fire CIA Covert Operations in Indonesia, 1957–1958. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-193-9.
  


• 
  Kahin, Audrey R; Kahin, George McT (1997) [1995]. Subversion as Foreign Policy The Secret Eisenhower and Dulles Debacle in Indonesia. Seattle and London: University of Washington Press. ISBN 0-295-97618-7.
  


• 
  Magenda, Burhan Djabier (2010). East Kalimantan: The Decline of a Commercial Aristocracy. Singapore: Equinox Publishing. p. 45. ISBN 978-602-839721-6.
  

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Balikpapan.

• 
  Balikpapan travel guide from Wikivoyage


• 
  JoTravelGuide.com – A comprehensive up to date travel guide to Balikpapan


• 
  Klemen, L (1999–2000). "Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941–1942".