The Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) has been working on developing tourism in small islands in Lepar Pongok district, South Bangka regency, with an investment of IDR41.36 billion. Starting in 2021, this project is one of BKPM’s 47 potential regional investments.
South Bangka regency, which capital is in Toboali, is part of the Bangka Belitung province. The regency had an area of 3,607.08 square kilometers (sqm) and a population of 198,189 in 2020. Bangka Belitung itself is an archipelagic province in Indonesia. Out of 470 islands in the province, only 50 of them have inhabitants. The province has an area of 16,424 sqm and it boasts 15 investments. Its infrastructure consists of two industrial centers, two airports, 26 ports, 25 educational facilities, 103 hotels and 23 hospitals.
The BKPM is a government agency in charge of implementing policy and service coordination in the investment sector in accordance with the regulations. The agency was founded in 1973 and has been led by Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia since 2021.
Tourism promotion for small islands
The BKPM is working with the South Bangka regency administration to promote tourism for domestic and foreign markets especially on Tinggi Island. The project is worth IDR41.36 billion and began in 2021 with an interest rate per return (IRR) of 16.32%, while its net present value (NPV) is IDR2.46 billion and a payback period of 5.8 years.
The project consists of development in several islands, including Tinggi Island, Seniur Island, Burung Island, Anak Air Island, Panjang Island, Bayan Island, Ibul Island, Mentagor Island, Lutung Island, Pemulut Island and Salma Island. Each island has a size from 3.3 hectares (ha) to 732ha. The regency is still well preserved naturally with significant eco-tourism and edu-tourism available. The surroundings of the islands consist of many coral reefs and seagrass. The surrounding waters are safe from high tides because of these small islands.
Since 2018, the regency administration has noticed and aggressively developed these small islands since they became tourist destinations for locals and foreigners.
South Bangka Regency’s Head of Sports, Youth Affairs and Tourism Agency, Harris, told Antara news agency on August 23, 2018, that the administration would “continue to improve facilities and infrastructure as well as promotions to develop tourism potential in Tinggi Island”.
The island is only 10 minutes away from Sadai port. Its topography consists of beaches and hills that carry outstanding tourism potential.
“With existing facilities such as bungalows and floating cages, the Tinggi Island becomes a favorite place to spend the night and eat seafood before continuing the tour to other small islands around Lepar Pongok,” Harris said.
Meanwhile, the island also boasts a good fishing spot for anglers. The administration had also planned to build tracks to the mountain and other extreme sports.
“In the future, we will build a track to the highest peak so that it can become one of the tourist spots to enjoy the sunset, sunrise and the beauty of the sea and small islands around Tinggi Island,” Harris added.
Challenges for the project
The regency, however, has some potential problems. Due to its location, the Bangka Island poses potential extreme weather. Heavy rain and strong winds are also being forecast to have high intensity in the area.
The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) predicts that five areas on Bangka Island -Pangkalpinang city, Bangka regency, West Bangka, Central Bangka and South Bangka – experience moderate to heavy rain in August 2022.
BMKG Data and Information Coordinator Kurniaji explained in an interview with Bangkapos.com on August 22, 2022, that several factors have affected the weather in Bangka Belitung. “The factor includes a negative Dipole Mode Index (DMI) -1.15, then wind turn and convergence, and the three Rossby equatorial waves. These three phenomena cause the region to still receive a lot of rain for the next one or two weeks,” he said.
