Samarinda, Banjarmasin, Pontianak and the other city markets

Outside Balikpapan, each of Kalimantan’s city markets rests on a short list of employers and trades. In most of them that means a provincial government and the river trade that serves plantations and mines inland. Knowing which of these carries a city tells you who will rent or buy from you later.

The checks are the same everywhere: the paperwork and the ground. What changes from city to city is which of them is more likely to fail. Balikpapan has its own article.

Samarinda

Samarinda is East Kalimantan’s capital and its most populous city, on the lower Mahakam River. Its economy runs on government, trade and the coal mined around it. The toll road links it with Balikpapan, and the capital area of Nusantara lies between the two cities. Demand comes from civil servants, traders and families whose income depends on mining and the services around it.

Coal is what sets Samarinda apart. It has been mined inside the city’s own boundaries, and many pits were left open when mining stopped. A plot near an old pit or inside a mining licence area needs extra checks on the ground and on the licence maps, and the article on void pits explains why. Ask about flooding too, especially on low ground near the river and the streams that feed it.

Banjarmasin and Banjarbaru

Banjarmasin sits on a delta island where the Martapura River meets the Barito. It’s South Kalimantan’s main port and trading city, and in 2020 its largest sectors were manufacturing, trade and finance. There’s no mining within the city itself.

The ground is flat and swampy, about 1 metre above sea level, and the rivers rise and fall with the tide. Parts of the city flood at high tide. For a buyer that puts the floor level, the foundations and the drainage at the top of the list.

Banjarbaru, about 35 km to the south-east, has been the provincial capital since Law 8 of 2022. It lies on higher ground towards the Meratus Mountains and has the province’s main airport, Syamsudin Noor. Government offices that move there bring civil servants and the services that follow them. The two cities sit in one metropolitan area (Banjarbakula), so plots in both compete for the same buyers.

Pontianak

Pontianak, West Kalimantan’s capital, sits where the Landak River meets the Kapuas, close to the equator. It’s the province’s centre for trade, hotels and services. Since 9 August 2022 its port has also had a terminal at Kijing, on the coast of Mempawah regency to the north, built for larger ships and for industry around it.

Much of the ground is soft river silt, with peat in places, and parts of the city were built on swamp. Foundations cost more on that ground, so ask a local builder what a plot needs before you price it.

Palangka Raya

Central Kalimantan’s capital was founded in 1957 as a planned city. At 2,853 square kilometres it has the largest land area of any Indonesian city, much of it forest and peat. Its economy runs on government, services, trade and construction, and most demand comes from civil servants and the people who serve them.

Fire is the risk to check. Haze from burning peat hit the city hard in 2015 and again in 2019. A plot on peat at the city’s edge can burn, settle or turn out to sit in a designated forest area, so check its fire history and its forest area status before you buy.

Tarakan and Tanjung Selor

Tarakan is an island city, the only city in North Kalimantan and its largest town. Oil made it important under Dutch rule, but oil is now a small part of its economy, and fisheries and processing lead. Juwata International Airport and ferries link it to Nunukan, Balikpapan and Tawau in Sabah. On an island, the land that can be built on is finite, and plots near the coast and the mangroves need the same flood checks as a river city.

Tanjung Selor, the provincial capital, is a district town in Bulungan regency rather than a city. As the seat of the provincial government, it draws civil servants and the services they use. East of it, on the coast at Tanah Kuning, an industrial estate is listed as a national strategic project. Land near a planned estate is often sold on the strength of the plan, so check what has been approved and built, as the article on industrial land near ports sets out.

Checks in any of these cities

• Have the land deed official (PPAT) check the certificate at the land office. A land letter (Surat Keterangan Tanah, SKT) from a village or sub-district head is evidence of a claim, not a registered title.
• Ask the city’s spatial planning office for the plot’s zoning and for any road or drainage plans that cross it.
• Visit in the wet season, and at high tide if the plot is near a river or the coast.
• Find out who would rent or buy from you, and how much of that demand depends on one employer or one project.
• At a city’s edge, check forest status and, around Samarinda, mining licences.