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)