Pekanbaru ( RIAU PROVINCE )

Pekanbaru is the capital of Riau, a province in Indonesia on the island of Sumatra. It has an area of 446.5 km² and population of over 585,400. Located on the Siak River, which drains to the Strait of Malacca, Pekanbaru has direct access to the busy strait and was long known as a trading port (the city name is derived from Indonesia words of 'new market'). The city is divided into 9 subdistricts (kecamatan). The Sultan Syarif Qasim II International Airport serves Pekanbaru with direct flights to Batam, Jakarta, Malaysia (Malacca and Kuala Lumpur), Singapore and other destinations in Indonesia. A settlement has existed on the city site since the 17th century. In the late 19th century, the city developed to serve the coffee and coal industries, and the Dutch built roads to help ship goods to Singapore and Malacca (now Melaka). After oil was discovered in the region in the 1930s, Pekanbaru's economy has depended heavily on oil revenues and made the city with the highest per capita income in Indonesia.[citation needed] Most of Indonesia's petroleum is produced in Riau, and much of Pekanbaru's economy is based on the petroleum industry. International oil companies, such as Chevron and Caltex, as well as Indonesian companies, have established their offices in the region. The city is connected by road to an oil refining and exporting port at Dumai. Many facilities, including an airport, stadium, swimming pool, and the road to Dumai, were partially financed by oil companies working in the area. Pekanbaru is one of the cleanest big cities in Indonesia and in 2006 received the "Adipura" award ('clean city') in the category of large city. The city is also notable for its wide streets Pekanbaru regularly suffers, however, from smog due to forest fires, particularly in the dry season. Some tourist attractions in Pekanbaru are the Great Mosque of An-Nur, Alam Mayang Fishing Garden, Sang Nila Utama Museum, Riau Cultural Park, Princess Kaca Mayang Garden, and Sari Valley Artificial Lake. Pekanbaru is becoming known as a center of malay culture; a Malay culture festival was held there in 2004.