Bangka Belitung province is developing ecotourism in the mangrove area around Bunting River in Belinyu district, Bangka regency. The project was established in 2021 with an investment worth IDR11.78 billion to develop ecotourism in the region.
Bunting River is located about 38.4 kilometers from West Bangka, 39.01 kilometers from Bangka and 67.19 kilometers from Pangkalpinang. Belinyu district itself is famous for fish kerupuk (crackers) and terasi (shrimp paste).
Bangka Belitung is an archipelagic province in Indonesia, close to neighboring country of Singapore. Out of 470 islands in the province, only 50 of them have inhabitants. The province has an area of 16,424 square kilometers and it boasts 15 investments. Its existing infrastructures consist of two industrial centers, two airports, 26 ports, 25 educational facilities, 103 hotels and 23 hospitals.
The Investment Coordinating Board (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 is currently being led by Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia since 2021.
Tourism opportunities
The BKPM is developing Bunting River into an eco-tourism mangrove site. The area is situated on North Bangka Island, which faces the Kelabat Bay. The project began in 2021 with an investment worth IDR11.78 billion, internal rate of return (IRR) of 32.55%, net present value (NPV) of IDR262.54 million and a payback period of 3.7 years. The place can be traversed from Sungai Liat district, the capital of Bangka regency, in one hour. The region has unique mangrove vegetation and culinary delight that has become its main attractiveness.
The region will be developed to support tourism in the area, hoping to attract more foreign and domestic tourists to come. With its marine aquatic culinary as an identity and the nature around it, Bunting River could be a profitable place to invest in the future and could attract tourists.
Meanwhile, the mangrove forest itself offers a wide range of fishes. According to Lindungi Hutan foundation on its website on March 31, 2022, there are several aquatic animals living in mangrove forests such as crabs, hermit crabs, shrimp, mudskippers and turtles.
The area has several ponds that offer a wide range of fishes. There are also seafood restaurants just above the ponds. On the other hand, the development offers environmental preservation efforts to secure the unique local environment in Bunting River. Furthermore, the added value to the place could improve the region’s economy.
Flooding is the challenge
But challenges lie ahead, Bangka Belitung is prone to flooding. The Bangka Belitung Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPDB) already mapped the region prone to natural disasters.
“The mapping of prone areas to disaster recorded seven flood-prone areas in some cities of Sungai Liat, Kayu Besi, Kace, Nelayan, Inpres Market and Sinar Jaya,” said BPDB Head Mohammad Nursi on August 2, 2022.
From November 2021 to January 2022, local media have reported floods in the province, inundating thousands of houses and forced the people to relocate to safer places.
