Invest in North Kalimantan
Kalimantan’s youngest province: coal, a green industrial estate on the coast at Tanah Kuning, and the island port of Tarakan, near Sabah.
Contact usKalimantan Utara
North Kalimantan in figures
- Capital
- Tanjung Selor
- Population, mid-2025
- 749,400
- Area
- 69,901 km²
- Regencies and cities
- 4 regencies, 1 city
- GRDP, 2025
- Rp 156.0 trillion
Population (mid-2025 estimate) and GRDP (current prices): BPS-Statistics Indonesia.
Sectors
What to invest in
-
Coal
Mining, mostly coal, is the largest sector. Output fell in early 2026 after the government cut the production plans it approves for each mine.
Ask about coal -
Food & agribusiness
Fisheries lead in Tarakan, and seaweed is farmed off Nunukan and Sebatik. Most of it leaves raw, for lack of processing nearby.
Ask about food & agribusiness -
Property
Tarakan, the only city, is the main market. On an island, land that can be built on is finite, and plots near the coast and the mangroves need flood checks.
Ask about property
Access
Ports, roads and industry
- Malundung port and Juwata airport, both in Tarakan.
- Ferries link Tarakan and Nunukan with Tawau in Sabah.
- The Tanah Kuning industrial estate in Bulungan, a national strategic project still at the preparation stage.
- Tanjung Selor, the capital, is a district town in Bulungan regency.
Due diligence
Check before you buy
-
Near the planned estate, check what has been approved and built. Land is often sold on the strength of the plan.
Industrial and warehouse land near Kalimantan's ports -
Check community consent. In December 2025, residents of Mangkupadi took the estate’s land rights to court.
Customary land and community consent in Kalimantan -
For a coal asset, check the production plan approved for this year. The 2026 cuts lowered output.
Due diligence on a coal concession -
Check forest status before any land deal. A certificate doesn’t prove the land sits outside the forest estate.
Forest area status: the check that can sink a land deal
Articles
Keep reading
- The five provinces of Kalimantan, compared Capitals, economies, ports, airports and leading sectors of West, Central, South, East and North Kalimantan, set side by side in one table.
- Industrial and warehouse land near Kalimantan's ports Where Kalimantan's industrial estates and economic zones sit near the ports, and what to check on zoning, title, power, water, access and flooding.
- Coal in Kalimantan: the basics for investors Where Kalimantan's coal is mined, what grades it produces, who buys it and who holds the licences, with Indonesia's output figures for 2024 to 2026.
- Due diligence on a coal concession What to check before buying into a coal mine: the licence record, the yearly quota, reserves, strip ratio, haulage, land, forest status and the company's debts.
- Customary land and community consent in Kalimantan How customary land is held and recognised in Kalimantan, where plantation and mine conflicts start and what real community consent looks like.
- Samarinda, Banjarmasin, Pontianak and the other city markets What drives property demand in Kalimantan's other cities, from Samarinda and Banjarmasin to Pontianak, Palangka Raya and Tarakan, and what to check in each.
General information, not investment advice. The figures are the latest published when this page was updated, so confirm them before you rely on them.
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