Bekasi – Wikipedia

City in West Java, Indonesia

after-content-x4 Bekasi
City of Bekasi Kota Bekasi
• Sundanese	ᮘᮨᮊᮞᮤ
Flag Coat of arms
Nickname(s):  Kota Patriot (City of the patriots) after-content-x4
Motto(s):  Bekasi Maju, Sejahtera dan Ihsan (For the Developed, Prosperous, and Good Bekasi people)
Show map of Java Location in Indonesia Show map of Indonesia
Coordinates: 6°14′06″S 106°59′32″E / 6.2349°S 106.9923°E / -6.2349; 106.9923Coordinates: 6°14′06″S 106°59′32″E / 6.2349°S 106.9923°E / -6.2349; 106.9923
Country	Indonesia
Province	West Java
• Acting Mayor	Tri Adhianto Tjahyono
• Total	210.49 km2 (81.27 sq mi)
Elevation	11–81 m (36–265 ft)
• Total	2,590,257
• Density	12,306/km2 (31,870/sq mi)
	[1]
Time zone	UTC+7 (Indonesia Western Time)
Area code	(+62) 21
Vehicle registration	B
Website	bekasikota.go.id

Bekasi (Indonesian pronunciation: [ˈbəkasi], Sundanese: ᮘᮨᮊᮞᮤ) is a city in West Java, Indonesia, located on the eastern border of Jakarta. It serves as a commuter city within the Jakarta metropolitan area. According to the 2020 Census by Statistics Indonesia (BPS), Bekasi had 2,543,676 inhabitants.^[2] The official estimate for mid 2022 was 2,590,257.^[3] It lies within the largest metropolitan area in Indonesia (Jabodetabek). The city is bordered by Bekasi Regency (from which the city was separated administratively on 16 December 1996) to the north and the east, Bogor Regency and Depok City to the south, and East Jakarta to the west.

Bekasi is one of the oldest cities in Indonesia, and has a history of being the capital city of the Kingdom of Tarumanagara. At that time, the name of Bekasi was Dayeuh Sundasembawa or Jayagiri. The earliest evidence of its existence dates from the fifth century according to the Tugu inscription, which describes the name of two rivers that run through the city, i.e. Candrabhaga and Gomati and one of those rivers, i.e. Candrabhaga is the origin of the name Bekasi where the name Candrabhaga evolved into Bhagasasi due to the Sanskrit word candra which means moon evolved into Old Sundanese word ‘sasi’ which also means moon and then the name Bhagasasi was misspelled as Bhagasi and then Dutch colonial government also misspelled the name Bhagasi as Bacassie and finally it became Bekasi.^[4] During the Dutch East Indies period, Bekasi was a part of Batavia residency. As a dormitory city, many middle class satellite areas have been developed in Bekasi,^[5] complete with their own shopping malls, schools, hospitals, club houses, water park, and shuttle bus services to central Jakarta. The large number of multinational companies has apparently attracted many expatriates (mainly Japanese and Korean) to settle in Bekasi.^[6]

Economy[edit]

Bekasi has already grown to become one of the centre of growth in Jabodetabek. The city accounts for 2.11% of total national GDP.^[7] Recently, many foreigners (mostly Korean, Japanese, and Chinese) have set up their business to take advantage of its dynamism and boost its economy. Bekasi’s economy was mainly based on service and manufacturing.

Commerce[edit]

Bekasi is one of the most promising property markets in Jabodetabek besides South Tangerang, and several high-value developments have transformed its property market. Many of country’s big property developers are building apartments, hotels, and shopping malls in the city. In recent years, some residences have developed along the Jatiwarna/Jatibening — East Bekasi toll highway, further to Cibatu in Bekasi Regency. These include Kota Harapan Indah, Summarecon Bekasi, Kemang Pratama and Grand Galaxy City.

Prime business and commercial centres are situated in the western part of city. There are some financial centres, restaurants, and shopping centres along Jalan Ahmad Yani, Jalan Sudirman, Jalan K.H. Noer Alie, and Harapan Indah Boulevard. The largest shopping centre is Grand Metropolitan with over 125,000 m² (1,350,000 sq ft) of floor space.^[8]
Other shopping centres include Metropolitan Mall, Summarecon Mal Bekasi, Mal Ciputra Cibubur, Mega Bekasi Hypermall, Grand Galaxy Park, Grand Mall, Blu Plaza, BTC Mall, GP Mall, Bekasi Cyber Park, Plaza Pondok Gede, and Lagoon Avenue. Many hotels developed in Bekasi, such as Santika, Horison, Harris, Aston Imperial, Amaris, Amaroossa and Tune Hotel.

Infrastructure[edit]

The development of large scale residential areas and industrial parks in Bekasi has been induced by infrastructure development, especially roads, highways and railways.

Road and highway[edit]

Bekasi is connected by the Trans-Java Toll Road, the main road across Java. There are three expressways connections from the Jabodetabek urban area: the Jakarta–Cikampek Toll Road, which has three exits in Bekasi; the Jakarta Outer Ring Road, which provides access to Tangerang, Jakarta and Bogor; and the new Bekasi-Cawang-Kampung Melayu Toll Road. In 2019, Jakarta-Cikampek elevated toll road will operate to ease traffic on the current toll road between Cikunir and West Karawang with a total length of 36.4 kilometres.^[9] Owing to its location as a satellite city of Jakarta, heavy rush hour traffic jams have become common on the roads between East Jakarta and Bekasi.

KM	Toll Road	Toll Gate	Destination
08	Jakarta–Cikampek Toll Road	Jatibening	Jatibening, Jatiwaringin, Cikunir
12		Bekasi Barat	Kayuringin, Pekayon, Summarecon Bekasi, Harapan Baru
16		Bekasi Timur	Margahayu, Bulak Kapal, Bantar Gebang
37	Jakarta Outer Ring Road	Jatiwarna	Jatiwarna, Kranggan, Pondok Gede
41		Jatiasih	Jatiasih, Cikunir, Jatimekar
47		Kalimalang	Kranji, Jakasampurna, Bintara Jaya
49		Bintara	Bintara, Bintara Jaya, Harapan Baru (alternative route)
13	Bekasi-Cawang-Kampung Melayu Toll Road	Jakasampurna	Jakasampurna, Jakasetia, Grand Galaxy City

Railway[edit]

The government is currently constructing a double track railway connecting Manggarai to Cikarang, which would be finished around 2020.^[10] Beside a double track railway, the government also building a 17.9 km light rail transit line connecting East Bekasi-Cawang-Dukuh Atas across Greater Jakarta.^[11]

Transport[edit]

At present, rapid transit in Bekasi across Greater Jakarta consists of a commuter rail KRL Commuterline and a bus rapid transit TransJakarta.

KRL Commuterline’s Blue Line serves from either Bekasi, Bekasi Timur or Kranji to Jakarta Kota (via Pasar Senen/Manggarai) and Cikarang. Bekasi Station also serves intercity trains to cities across Java.

TransJakarta and the Transjabodetabek premium serves commuters from Harapan Indah, Summarecon Bekasi, Bulak Kapal, and Jatiwarna, as well as the feeder buses from Kemang Pratama and Grand Galaxy City to Jakarta city center. The Trans Patriot operates a route within the city. Damri shuttle bus service is available from the Soekarno–Hatta International Airport to Kayuringin, Harapan Indah and Summarecon Bekasi. Taxis are widely available. The primary means of public transportation is by minibus, called angkot. They serve certain routes throughout the city.

The main bus terminal is Terminal Bekasi, located in East Bekasi. The other terminals are Pondok Gede, Harapan Indah and Kayuringin.

Demographics[edit]

The 2020 Census of Bekasi’s population was 2,543,676, but according to the official estimates for mid 2022 this had risen to 2,590,257. Bekasi is inhabited by many different ethnic groups, mostly Sundanese, Betawi and Javanese descent. Sundanese are the largest minority as well as other minorities include Minangkabau, Bataks, and Chinese.

Most citizens in Bekasi adhere to Islam. Other religions include Christianity (Roman Catholicism and Protestantism), Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism.

Bekasi was the home base of the football team PCB Persipasi.,^[12] with Patriot Chandrabhaga Stadium as the home stadium of the club.^[13]

Administrative Districts[edit]

Bekasi City is divided into twelve districts (‘kecamatan’), listed below with their areas and their populations at the 2010 Census^[14] and the 2020 Census,^[15] together with the official estimates for mid 2022.^[16] The table also includes the number of urban villages (kelurahan) within the district, and its postal codes.

District	Area in km2	Population 2010 Census	Population 2020 Census	Population mid 2022 Estimate	No. of kelurahan	Post codes
Pondokgede	15.92	246,503	251,195	254,200	5	17411-17413
Jatisampurna	19.54	103,715	123,924	127,180	5	17432-17435
Pondokmelati	11.80	128,934	131,122	132,670	4	17414, 17415, 17431
Jatiasih	24.27	198,444	247,362	254,810	6	17421-17426
Bantargebang	18.44	95,845	107,216	109,400	4	17151-17154
Mustikajaya	26.42	159,773	213,515	221,300	4	17155-17158
Bekasi Timur (East Bekasi)	14.63	247,357	257,025	260,550	4	17111-17113
Rawalumbu	16.85	208,334	220,699	224,110	4	17114-17117
Bekasi Selatan (South Bekasi)	16.06	203,654	210,805	213,620	5	17141-17148
Bekasi Barat (West Bekasi)	14.93	272,557	281,681	285,410	5	17133-17145
Medan Satria	11.88	161,162	162,119	163,870	4	17131-17133, 17143
Bekasi Utara (North Bekasi)	19.75	308,593	337,013	343,140	6	17121-17125, 17142
Totals	210.49	2,334,871	2,543,676	2,590,257	56

Climate[edit]

Bekasi has a tropical monsoon climate (Am) according to Köppen climate classification. The wettest month (highest precipitation) is January, with a precipitation total of 374.0 millimetres (14.72 in), while the driest month (lowest precipitation) is August, with a precipitation total of 55.0 millimetres (2.17 in). (as of 2020)

In popular culture[edit]

People from Bekasi[edit]

Notable people from Bekasi include:

References[edit]

External links[edit]