Infrastructure aids Banten's residents and tourists
The Jakarta Post in cooperation with PT Banten West Java Tourism Development Corporation, will be presenting weekly issues over the next six months on the attractions and activities of the Banten region.
JAKARTA (JP): Few people may realize that they are in West Java's Banten region when they arrive at or departing from Indonesia via the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, the country's major entry point for international tourists.
Yes, the airport does belongs to the country's capital Jakarta, but it is, geographically, located in Tangerang, one of the four regencies in Banten. As a part of West Java, Banten is actually quite large. It includes over two million hectares of land, which is half of the West Java province. Banten's other regencies are Serang, Pandeglang and Lebak.
The Soekarno-Hatta airport, managed by state-owned PT Angkasa Pura II, is just one example of the infrastructure located or constructed in the Banten region, which is aiming to accelerate development there, including the tourist industry.
The Soekarno-Hatta airport is architecturally impressive. In 1995, it won the Aga Khan award for architecture.
Situated on a 1,800-hectare site, the airport has twin runways of 3,660 meters and 3,600 meters in length, each 60 meters in width. It serves some 30 domestic and overseas airlines with a total traffic of about 124 flights (departures and arrivals) daily.
The airport was inaugurated in April 1989. Now, it can accommodate up to 25 million passengers annually. The surrounding area, particularly Tangerang, has become a potential area for growth.
Sea gateway
In sea transportation services, Banten has the Merak port, which is operated by the state-owned sea-crossing service firm PT ASDP. The port has three piers, which can accommodate about 20,000 people crossing the Sunda Strait -- arrivals and departures -- from Bakauheni in Lampung, Sumatra. There are 23 ferries operating in the port, 21 of which are owned by private companies.
Banten was the center of a trading empire in the 1600s. Early merchants from Europe and the Middle East made their way to this area as the traditional sea gateway to Southeast Asia and beyond. Located on the western tip of Java, Banten was the hub of a commercial empire from the 16th century to 19th century. Business in Banten during this time thrived. Traders from Britain, China, India, the Netherlands, Portugal and Turkey arrived at the old harbor in the present-day village of Karangatu, north of Banten, the coastal area where the Dutch first arrived to trade in Java.
According to Soedjarwo, public relations manager for the state-owned port management company PT Pelabuhan Indonesia II, Banten currently has more than 30 other ports.
"Most of these are owned by private companies in the businesses of, among other things, propylene, oil and gas and detergent. Apart from the Merak port, there is only the Ciwandan Banten harbor which serves container vessels," he said.
He said the Ciwandan Banten port was targeted to obtain an ISO 9002 certificate later this year and to becoming a world-class harbor by next year.
"It's a natural harbor with six piers totaling 451 meters in length and up to 32 meters in width, while its depth reaches 15 meters," he said, adding that it covered a 10,497-hectare site.
He said that the harbor had a 22,437-square-meter container yard and a 1,500-square-meter warehouse, three piloted ships and seven tugboats.
"There were 3,288 vessels served at Ciwandan Banten last year, up from 3,054 in 1997. Total cargo handled reached 20.58 million metric tons in 1998, up from 19.08 million tons in the previous year," said Soedjarwo.
The Banten region, which claims to have a wide range of tourist attractions, is also a popular area for major factory and industry businesses. Access for tourists to get into the area has become very easy since the operation of the Jakarta-Merak toll road, which includes a 26-kilometer toll linking Jakarta and Tangerang, a four-kilometer toll road in Ciujung and a 8.4- kilometer Serang toll road. This infrastructure totals more than 100 kilometers, in addition to roads in general in the area.
The railway service remains a favorite facility. Railway operator PT Kereta Api operates an executive train, the Merak Jaya, and an express economy-class train, the Patas Ekonomi. The twice-daily services link Jakarta and Merak via Sudimara, Rangkas Bitung, Serang and Cilegon. The economy class train stops at almost all the smaller stations along the route.
But, many people also prefer the toll roads. The Jakarta-Merak distance spans about 90 kilometers and it takes approximately two hours by car to get to Merak from the center of the capital. The distance to Merak is only 78 kilometers from the Soekarno-Hatta airport. Over 20,000 vehicles use the toll road daily.
Also, some travelers are fond of more scenery and panoramic routes, particularly those in rural areas far away from major roads. They will, most likely, experience a more difficult trip to really enjoy safaris in remote areas having natural sights.
Tour manager of Banten World travel agent, Katamsi Nurrasa, said that the roads in the southern part of Rangkas Bitung, the capital of Lebak, were still very poor.
"There are many people who are fond of visiting the unique Baduy community," he said.
The Baduy is an indigenous and private society whose traditional ritual of purification has attracted many people. There are about 4,000 Baduy people living in a territory near the Kendeng mountain, 40 kilometers to the south of Rangkas Bitung.
Nurrasa said that the roads linking Jasinga-Rangkas Bitung and Bayah-Cikotok, also in Lebak, were also poor. "It's contrary to the views where travelers can see beautiful valley scenery on the one side and the sea on the other."
He said that the government had paid less attention to the area's land transportation needs as well in roads linking Bayah- Cisolok, Pelabuhan Ratu-Cisolok, Bayah-Malimping and Muara Binuangeun-Cibaliung.
Many times, visitors intending to go to Ujung Kulon National Park in Pandeglang have been forced to sail from Sumur to Taman Jaya instead of traveling by car due to poor roads, he said.
The Ujung Kulon park, located on the southwestern tip of West Java, is a wildlife reserve made up of a thick forest and is home to the last surviving one-horn rhinos. Other wildlife in the forest include wild bears, birds, deer, crocodiles, oxen, panthers and snakes.
Electricity
The southern part of Banten is dotted with large-scale mining and tourism sites. Electricity and telecommunications have, thus, become important infrastructure projects.
Muzini, of the state-owned electricity provider PT PLN in Banten, said that the company operated 14 main stations in the region, located in Cilegon, Cikande and Labuan.
He said that PLN Banten covered five operation areas: Cilegon, Cikande, Rangkas Bitung, Pandeglang and Labuan with a total installed power of almost one million kilo-volt-amperes.
The PLN Banten office has become the largest contributor, in terms of income, to PLN, followed by the Bandung office, he said
This has benefited villages in the areas, he said.
In terms of the ratio of electrification, PLN has covered 100 percent of villages in Cilegon, 99 percent in Cikande, 79.66 percent in Rangkas Bitung, 97.83 percent in Pandeglang and 86.96 percent in Labuan.
Muzini said the rate was low in Rangkas Bitung because PLN could not enter the Baduy community, which refuses to have electricity.
The private firm PT Banten West Java Tourism Development Corporation (BWJ), which is developing a 1,500-hectare Tanjung Lesung tourist resort, has supported the local people to having access to electricity and clean water.
Tanjung Lesung is a natural peninsula bordering the Sunda strait.
Chris J. Gorrill, of BWJ, said that his company has also developed a clinic serving guests and employees of the development property as well as local people.
He said that the company had also prepared a waste water treatment plan, a crucial facility for a project like Tanjung Lesung.
He said that improving living conditions for the local people has been the company's concern.
Telecommunications
Telecommunications in the Banten area is partly managed by the state-owned telecommunications operator PT Telkom (Tangerang, Serang and Cilegon) and privately owned PT Ariawest International (Pandeglang, Rangkas Bitung, Labuan).
Sukrino of Telkom Tangerang office said there was a total of 310,872 lines in Tangerang, Serang and Cilegon as at June this year.
"Total line in service is only 181,984, comprising 141,057 in Tangerang, 17,730 in Serang and 23,161 in Cilegon," he said.
He said that the Tangerang office aimed to gain an ISO 9002 certificate in public phone services soon. "We are able to achieve a rate of 'fixing a disorder on the day of complaint report' of 95 percent, while successful call ratio reaches 80 percent," he said.
Lawrence Chandra of Ariawest said that Ariawest covers nine operational areas with a total of 16,196 lines.
"All of the offices in the operational areas have been dubbed as world class operators. We're also in the process of gaining ISO 9002 certification," he said, adding that the only challenge was how to increase telephone density in the area, which was currently about two lines per 100 people.
Other services
One of leading social services in Banten is the hospitals.
A major addition to the area is Siloam Gleneagles Hospital in the Lippo Karawaci township, Tangerang. The hospital, the first hospital in the country to involve foreign investors and to float shares on the stock market, boasts of having facilities and treatments matching medical services abroad.
Tangerang also has the Honoris Hospital in the Modern township. This hospital promotes its work in stroke hemorrhagic and brain tumor microsurgery, supported by sophisticated facilities including a helical CT-scan and an intensive care unit.
In Serang, the local authority has run the Serang hospital since 1938. Physician Sulaeman of the hospital said that it had been fully accredited to the end of next year.
He said it was named the best in hospital performance in West Java in 1997/1998 and the second best hospital nationwide last year.
"Relating to the development of the tourism industry, we have applied a waste water management system in all units," he said.
The hospital also holds regular seminars, courses and meetings with clinics run by hotels in the area for reference to medical specialization.
Another leading medical facility in Banten is Krakatau Steel Hospital, which was opened in 1985 as part of the state-owned steelmaker PT Krakatau Steel.
Hospital director Mardiana B. Kaswan, said that Krakatau Steel Hospital, now self-supervised, has won several provincial and national awards and has become a reference point for other medical centers in the Banten area.
Krakatau Steel also has the Topaz Krakatau Music School, managed by Topaz Music School under Yamaha of Japan.
Hayati Kurnila of Topaz said the school in Banten was seeing promising prospects, now teaching 217 students.
"It just opened in April last year. Some music schools even in Jakarta have found it difficult to get 200 students in one year," she said.
She said that the school offered guitar and piano classes and planned to open more music classes soon when more spaces were available. (I. Christianto)