| Pekanbaru | |||
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| Nickname(s): Kota Bertuah (Indonesian): "The City of Good Fortune" | |||
| Location of Pekanbaru in Indonesia | |||
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Pekanbaru
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| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Indonesia | ||
| Province | Riau | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 632.26 km2 (244.1 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2010) | |||
| • Total | 903,902 | ||
| • Density | 1,430/km2 (3,703.7/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | WIB (UTC+7) | ||
| Postal code | 28131 | ||
| Area code(s) | 0761 | ||
| Website | www.pekanbaru.go.id | ||
Pekanbaru is the capital of Riau, a province in Indonesia on the island of Sumatra. It has an area of 632.26 km² and a population of 903,902. Located on the Siak River, which drains to the Strait of Malacca. Pekanbaru has direct access to the busy strait and was long known as a trading port (the city name is derived from the Indonesian words of 'new market' or 'new town', "pekan" meaning 'market' or 'town', and "baru" meaning 'new'). The city is divided into 12 subdistricts (kecamatan). The Sultan Syarif Kasim II International Airport serves Pekanbaru with direct flights to Batam, Jakarta, Malaysia (Malacca and Kuala Lumpur), Singapore and other destinations in Indonesia. A settlement has existed on the city site since the 17th century. In the late 19th century, the city developed to serve the coffee and coal industries, and the Dutch built roads to help ship goods to Singapore and Malacca.
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Pekanbaru is one of the cleanest big cities in Indonesia[1] and in 2011, received the "Adipura" ('clean city') award in the category of large city for the seventh consecutive time.[2] The city is also notable for its wide main streets. However, Pekanbaru regularly suffers from smoke or smog due to forest fires, particularly in the dry season, since there is very little rain to put the fires out. The fires also can be traced to people simply burning their trash or freshly cut grass. Most of the fires are intentionally started, but often unintentionally grow dangerous.
Pekanbaru is the third most populous city on Sumatra Island, after Medan and Palembang with a population of 903,902 recorded in the 2010 census. The city is highly urbanized, drawing many of its people from the neighbouring province of West Sumatra. In addition to Riau Malays natives, the city also has other ethnic groups. The Minangkabau are the largest ethnic group, forming 37.7% of population.[3] Javanese, Batak, and Tionghoa are the other main ethnic groups inhabiting Pekanbaru.
The city is divided into 12 subdistricts.
Pekanbaru has a tropical rainforest climate under the Koppen climate classification. As with many cities with a tropical rainforest climate, Pekanbaru features relatively constant temperatures throughout the course of the year, with average high temperatures around 31 degrees Celsius and average lows of around 23 degrees Celsius. The city has no dry season month, but does feature wetter and drier months. Its driest month (July) sees on average about 40% of the precipitation as its wettest month (November). Pekanbaru on average sees roughly 2600 mm of rain per year.
| Climate data for Pekanbaru | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 30 (86) |
31 (87) |
31 (88) |
31 (88) |
32 (89) |
32 (89) |
31 (88) |
31 (88) |
31 (88) |
31 (88) |
31 (87) |
30 (86) |
31 (88) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 23 (74) |
23 (74) |
23 (74) |
23 (74) |
24 (75) |
23 (74) |
23 (73) |
23 (73) |
23 (73) |
23 (74) |
23 (74) |
23 (73) |
23 (74) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 180 (7.09) |
210 (8.27) |
220 (8.66) |
250 (9.84) |
200 (7.87) |
160 (6.3) |
120 (4.72) |
170 (6.69) |
210 (8.27) |
240 (9.45) |
300 (11.81) |
270 (10.63) |
2,580 (101.57) |
| Source: http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather.php3?s=90169&refer=&units=metric | |||||||||||||
After oil was discovered in the region in the 1930s, Pekanbaru's economy has depended heavily on oil revenues which have made it the city with the highest per capita income in Indonesia. Most of Indonesia's petroleum is produced in Riau, and much of Pekanbaru's economy is based on the petroleum industry. International oil companies, such as Chevron from US, as well as other Indonesian companies, have established their offices in the region. The city is connected by road to an oil refining and exporting port at Dumai. Many facilities, including an airport, three stadiums (building a fourth), a swimming pool, one of the two bridges that cross the Siak River near the city, the roads in Rumbai area, and also the road to Dumai, were partially or fully financed by oil companies working in the area.
Because Pekanbaru is a major gateway into Indonesia from Singapore, the city has becoming a favorite stop before travelers go further inland in Indonesia. The Pasar Pusat (centre market) is a food-trip destination and is considered a household-goods trove. Pasar Bawah and Pasar Tengeh in the port area have Chinese goods, including ceramics and carpets.
Pekanbaru is the new commercial center for the Sumatra region. Many large companies, such as bank, insurance, restaurant, and cafe, have opened branches in the downtown.
Tourist attractions in Pekanbaru include the Great Mosque of An-Nur, Alam Mayang Fishing Garden, Sang Nila Utama Museum, Riau Cultural Park, Princess Kaca Mayang Garden, and Sari Valley Artificial Lake. Pekanbaru is becoming known as a center of Malay culture; a Malay culture festival was held there in 2004. The city has the only still existing 10 foot and 300 pound dragon. The city is also considered the home of an unpopular stinky flower which is the biggest flower in the world.
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