Tangerang is a city in Banten, Indonesia. It is located about 20 km west of Jakarta. It is the third largest urban center in the Jabotabek region after Jakarta and Bekasi. It has an area of 164.54 km² and an official intercensal estimated population of 1,537,244 for 2005. The Soekarno-Hatta International Airport is located in the city.

Overview

Tangerang is an industrial and manufacturing hub on Java and is home to over 1,000 factories. Many international corporations have plants in the city. Tangerang tends to be hot and humid, with little in way of trees or geographical features. Certain areas consist of swamps, including the areas near the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

In recent years the urban expansion of Jakarta has covered Tangerang, and as a result many of its residents commute to Jakarta for work, or vice-versa. Many high-class and middle-class satellite cities have been developed in Tangerang, complete with their own shopping malls, private schools and convenience centers. The government is working on expanding the highway system to accommodate more traffic flow to and from the area.

Demographics

Tangerang also has a significant community of Chinese Indonesians, many of whom are of Cina Benteng extraction. Benteng means 'fortress' in Indonesian. They were descended from laborers who were brought there by the Dutch colonials in the 18th and 19th centuries, and most of them are still laborers and farmers. They are culturally distinct from other Chinese communities in the area: while almost none speak any dialect of Chinese, they are culturally very strongly Dao and maintain their own places of worship and community centers. They are ethnically mixed, yet identify themselves as Chinese. A large Chinese cemetery is also located in Tangerang, most of which are now developed into suburban communities such as Lippo Karawaci, Summarecon Gading Serpong, Bumi Serpong Damai, Bintaro Jaya, Modernland, and Alam Sutra.

Most of the Chinatown of Tangerang is located at Sewan, Pasar Lama, Pasar Baru, Benteng Makasar, Kapling, Karawaci (not Lippo Karawaci). One can find any food and all things Chinese there. Lippo Karawaci, Bintaro Jaya, Bumi Serpong Damai and Alam Sutra are new locations of residential places (New Towns). A vast majority of the residents are newcomers, not genuine Benteng Chinese.

Infrastructure and Facility

There are two highway connections from Jakarta. Firstly, Jakarta - Merak highway which have three different exits points to Tangerang city. Secondly, Bumi Serpong Damai - Jakarta Outer Ringroad highway providing direct tol access from Tangerang, Jakarta, Bekasi, and Bogor. The feeder buses of Transjakarta serves commutter from Bumi Serpong Damai and Bintaro Jaya. KRL Jabotabek serves from Tangerang and Serpong to Jakarta Kota. Many shopping malls developed in Tangerang, such as Mal Summarecon Serpong, WTC Matahari, BSD Plaza, ITC BSD, Bintaro Plaza, and the bigest one, Supermal Karawaci. For Indonesian A1 Grand Prix on November 2008, the government have been developing Lippo Karawaci circuit.

Economy

Garuda Indonesia, the Indonesian national airline, is headquartered at the airport, located in Tangerang.

History

Struggle for Independence

On October 1945, Laskar Hitam, a muslim militia was established in Tangerang. The goal of this movement is to establish an Islamic nation in Indonesia. This movement later became a part of DI/TII rebel group. On October 31, 1945, Laskar Hitam kidnapped Otto Iskandardinata, Republic of Indonesia's Minister of State. He persumably was murdered at Mauk beach, Tangerang on December 20, 1945.

After the declaration of Independence, there was a chaos and racial riots in Tangerang. Anti ethnic Chinese groups attack ethnic Chinese in Tangerang because they assumed that ethnic Chinese supported the Dutch government who try to re-occupied Indonesia.

Independence

From 1981 to 1984: Soekarno Hatta International airport was built in Benda, Tangerang. The airport is located in Tangerang, but it is called "Soekarno Hatta Airport, Cengkareng, Jakarta". Cengkareng is the name of a sub-district in West Jakarta near the airport.

On August 1996, Walmart, the largest retail in USA open its first branch in Lippo Karawaci, Tangerang. Unfortunately the branch was ransacked and burned down during the May 1998 riot. Walmart discontinue their investment in Indonesia after the riot.

Situ Gintung Flood

The Tangerang District is the home of a lake called "Situ Gintung". Situ Gintung (Sundanese, Lake Gintung) was an artificial lake near to the town of Cirendeu in Tangerang District, Indonesia. It was formed by a dam up to 16 metres (52 ft) high which was built by Dutch colonial authorities in 1933. The dam failed on 27 March 2009 with resulting floods killing at least 93 people. The flood could have been prevented had local authorities not neglected the recommendation of American engineers which recommended the reinforcement of the dam and possible evacuation of the lower villages located at the very bottom of the dam. Local government neglected to follow up, resulting in the ancient dam's failure.

South Tangerang

South Tangerang is the city newly divided from Tangerang Regency. It has seven subdistricts are Serpong, North Serpong, Ciputat, East Ciputat, Pondok Aren, Pamulang and Setu. Located on the southwest of Jakarta, it has an area of 147.19 square kilometres and a population of 966.037.

References

External links

• Official website
• Otto Iskandardinata.