Balikpapan City

Balikpapan city rose to its prominence by being a strategic port city in Indonesia, located on the east coast of Borneo Island and facing the deep Makassar Straits. It is also a financial centre of Kalimantan province with a population of 688,318, divided into 6 districts and 34 subdistricts. Before the oil boom in the 1900’s, Balikpapan began as a Bugis fishing village before finally becoming one of Indonesia’s centres for oil silos and refineries, such as being home to Indonesia’s own petroleum giant, Pertamina.  

However, over the years, the Balikpapan city government focused on building a safe, green, and resilient city that brings other forms of prosperity for city, with results and credentials that the Indonesian Association of Planners deemed worthy of the 65.8 percent score on the most Livable City Index (Jakarta Globe, 2022)