Ranati plans mega resort for Belitung island
Ranati plans mega resort for Belitung island
TANJUNG PANDAN, Belitung (JP): This tin mining island in South
Sumatra will have a huge tourist resort if PT Putra Ciptawahana
Sejati (Ranati) -- controlled by President Soeharto's youngest
son Hutomo Mandala Putra -- has its way.
The company's technical director, Marc Krisnanto, said here
over the weekend that construction of the 1,070-hectare Belitung
Indah Resort would begin in January.
"Development will take place in two stages, the first of which
will cover 270 hectares and the second 800 hectares. Total
investment for the whole 1,070-hectare resort will reach US$120
million," he said.
The first stage of development is scheduled to be completed in
1998, and the second stage in 2005.
Belitung Indah Resort will be built on the north-eastern coast
of Belitung island.
The 270-hectare first stage will include 700 residential
units, four hotels, a village center, a water recreation center,
an 18-hole golf course, a park and a landscaped buffer.
"The resort will offer pristine beaches and the nature of the
Belitung island," Krisnanto said.
He said Ranati had appropriated the entire site, formally held
by 28 families, but would not comment on their compensation.
Local vendors running kiosks along the Bilik beach where
Ranati's project is located said they were enthusiastic about the
planned resort.
But they are worried about the risk of being relocated when
the project is completed.
"I don't know whether the developer will accommodate us or
resettle us in another area," a vendor said.
Krisnanto said a growing tourist industry would generate new
jobs for Belitung's people.
Belitung Regent Urip T.P. Alam said on Sunday that the per
capita income of local people was US$1,100 last year, higher than
the national average of $1,023.
Ritual ceremony
"I am confident that tourism will become Belitung's major
industry replacing tin mining," Urip said when officially opening
the Buang Jong festival, a traditional local ceremony.
The island, with a population of 198,034, is 77 kilometers
wide and 79 kilometers long.
Tin mining, formerly Belitung's primary industry, has declined
because of decreasing deposits. The island also has kaolin, clay
and granite quarries.
The island's other major sources of income include tourism,
agriculture, plantations, livestock and fisheries.
The Belitung Indah Resort will be the first tourist resort on
the island.
There are not many flights to Belitung. The Buluhtumbang
airport serves only two domestic air carriers, Sempati Air and
Merpati Nusantara. They serve the Jakarta-Tanjung and Pandan-
Jakarta routes once a day. Merpati also runs Palembang-Tanjung
and Pandan-Pangkalpinang (Bangka island) return services four
times a week.
Official data says there are eight hotels with a total 150
rooms in Belitung. The state-owned telecommunications provider PT
Telkom has installed about 3,000 telephone lines on the island,
but there are still few public pay phones.
About 4,000 domestic and 500 overseas tourists visited the
island last year, according to official data.
Visitors must find their own way around the island because
pubic transportation is lacking.
Major tourist attractions include the Gunung Tajam
conservation forest, the 149-year-old Burung Mandi Chinese temple
and the national museum.
Urip said the Buang Jong festival, which began as an annual
event this year, was designed to become a major tourist
attraction on Belitung island. (icn)