Palangkaraya

Palangkaraya is the capital of the Indonesian province Central Kalimantan, also famously known as Central Borneo situated between the Kahayan and the Sabangau rivers. The closest airport serving the city is Tjilik Riwut.

The city had a population of 220,962 inhabitants at the 2010 Census (compared with 158,770 at the previous Census in 2000), with an average population density of 92.1 per km² (Indonesian Population Census 2010 results). The latest official estimate (as at January 2014) is 236,601.

The city was built in 1957 (Emergency Law 10/1957 on the establishment of the Autonomous Region Central Kalimantan Level I) on wilderness that opened through the Pahandut village alongside Kahayan river banks. Palangkaraya is the largest city by land area in Indonesia.Most of the area is still forested, including protected forests, nature conservation areas, and Tangkiling Forest.

History

Kalimantan Tengah (Central Kalimantan) province was established on 23 May 1957. The First Indonesian President, Sukarno, initiated construction of the city of Palangkaraya, the capital of the new province. Initially, Palangkaraya was prepared as the new capital of Indonesia to replace Jakarta; a proposal that was discussed until recently. To support this process, many iconic buildings were built to reflect the idea of Greater Indonesia. For example, the Bundaran Besar (Big Roundabout) in downtown Palangkaraya consists of a meeting of eight roads that symbolizes the eight great islands of Indonesia (Java, Sumatra, Sulawesi (Celebes), Kalimantan (Indonesia's Borneo), Bali, Nusa Tenggara Islands, and Papua). This makes Palangkaraya one of the most well-constructed planned cities in Indonesia.