Ketapang or Tau-pang in Teochew is the administrative capital of Ketapang Regency (Kabupaten Ketapang), one of the regencies of West Kalimantan province on the island of Borneo in Indonesia. Ketapang town is located at -1.85°N, 109.98333°W and is a town on the delta of the Pawan River. Ketapang is served by the Rahadi Oesman Airport.

History

Ketapang is named from the local Malay name for ketapang tree (Terminalia catappa). In 1936, Ketapang Regency became one of the Afdeling (district in Dutch) in Keresidenan Kalimantan Barat (Residentis Western Afdeling van Borneo). In 1956, Ketapang Regency became an autonomous regency in West Kalimantan province, and led by a regent (bupati).

Administration

In formal Indonesian administrative subdivision, Ketapang is a town district, not a city. The name of Ketapang is only officially applied to Ketapang Regency. Although there is no exact border of the built-up area, most of the government offices and the central of business of Ketapang Regency are located in Delta Pawan District (Kecamatan Delta Pawan) and because of that the district is considered as the capital of the regency. The district itself is located on the delta of the Pawan River. Delta Pawan District is sub-divided into five urban communities (kelurahan) and four rural villages (desa) - the desa being listed last in the table below - all listed below with their areas and populations as at mid 2023, together with their postcodes.

Economy

The main industries consists in the production of palm oil, rubber and wood. And also there are some mining like alumina, bauxite, zircon sand and lead (Batu Galena)

Education

There are 37 high schools operated by state, private and religious institutions. The town has a polytechnic (Politeknik Ketapang, opened in 2008) and an Open University (Universitas Terbuka).

Health

The three hospitals located in the town are RSUD Dr. Agoesdjam (public hospital), RS Fatima (private hospital), and RS Permata Bunda (private hospital).

Demographics

Ketapang is a multicultural town. It has a large population of Chinese. Madurese and Javanese are significant minorities, in terms of size. Most Chinese residents in Ketapang are of either Teochew or Hakka descent with Teochew being the majority. Because of this, Teochew is the main dialect used among Chinese residents in Ketapang. The native Indonesians living there are mainly of Malay and Dayak descent. In regards to speech, most citizens of Ketapang incorporate a type of Malay accent in their Indonesian, which is somewhat similar to that used in Malaysia.

Transportation

Ketapang is served by the Rahadi Oesman Airport. The airport has some connecting flights to Pontianak and Semarang via Pangkalan Bun. Since February 2011, Ketapang also has direct flight to Jakarta, by Aviastar. Aviastar stopped the service in 2018. Ketapang can also be reached via ship from Pontianak (a six-hour speedboat ride, departing Pontianak daily at 6 am). The ship also stopped the service in 2018. But there are some ship from Teluk Melano, 2 hours drive from Ketapang and home pick-up included, to Pontianak every day. Pontianak's airport serves flights to Jakarta. By 2019, it is possible to drive to Pontianak by car in about 12 hours passing Trans-Kalimantan road.

Main sights

Notable people

Villages