Bekasi

Bekasi 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. The official estimate for mid 2023 was 2,627,207 - comprising 1,320,682 males and 1,306,525 females. 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 the city of 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 mis-spelt as "Bhagasi", and then the Dutch colonial government also mis-spelt the name Bhagasi as "Bacassie", and finally it became "Bekasi". 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, 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.

Economy
Bekasi has already grown to become one of the main centres of growth in Jabodetabek. The city accounts for 2.11% of total national GDP. 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. Nowadays, Bekasi's economy also supported by services industry.

Commerce
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 sqm of floor space. 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
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
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. 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.

Railway
A double track railway connecting Manggarai to Cikarang serves the city. Beside a double track railway, the government also built a 17.9 km light rail transit line connecting East Bekasi-Cawang-Dukuh Atas across Greater Jakarta.

Transport
At present, rapid transit in Bekasi across Greater Jakarta consists of rail KRL Commuterline, Jabodebek LRT, 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.

Jabodebek LRT serving on Bekasi Line which serves trips from Dukuh Atas station to Jatimulya station. The distance traveled in this fully-elevated line is 29.54 km.

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 TransPatriot 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.

Hydrology
The City of Bekasi is traversed by the main river, the Kali Bekasi (Bekasi River), along with its tributaries. The Bekasi River originates from the confluence of the Cikeas and Cileungsi rivers, which have their sources in the mountains of Bogor Regency. Surface water in the Bekasi area includes the Bekasi River, several smaller rivers, and the Tarum Barat irrigation canals used for irrigating fields. This water serves as the raw water source for the drinking water needs of the Bekasi region (both the city and the regency) and the DKI Jakarta area. Currently, the surface water condition of the Bekasi River is polluted by industrial waste originating from the southern part of the City of Bekasi (industries located in Bogor Regency).

The City of Bekasi is a part of the Bekasi river basin, located in the downstream area of the basin with slopes ranging from 0 to 2% and elevations between 11 meters to 81 meters above sea level. The city of Bekasi is part of the Bekasi river basin and is located in the downstream area of the basin, with a slope ranging from 0 to 2% and elevations between 11 meters to 81 meters above sea level. This topographical condition leads to frequent flooding in many areas of Bekasi, especially during the rainy season, such as in the districts of Jatiasih, East Bekasi, Rawalumbu, South Bekasi, West Bekasi, and Pondok Melati.

Demographics
The 2020 Census of Bekasi's population was 2,543,676, but according to the official estimates for mid 2023 this had risen to 2,627,207. 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.

Sport
Bekasi was the home base of the football team PCB Persipasi, Bhayangkara F.C., and Bekasi City with Patriot Chandrabhaga Stadium as the home stadium of the three clubs.

Administrative Districts
Bekasi City is divided into twelve districts ('kecamatan'), listed below with their areas and their populations at the 2010 Census and the 2020 Census, together with the official estimates for mid 2023. The table also includes the locations of the district administrative centres, the number of urban villages (all classed as kelurahan) within each district, and its postal codes.

Climate
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 mm, while the driest month (lowest precipitation) is August, with a precipitation total of 55.0 mm. (as of 2020)

In popular culture

 * Chairil Anwar's poem Karawang-Bekasi (1948).
 * Pramoedya Ananta Toer's novel Di Tepi Kali Bekasi (1951) is set mainly in Bekasi.

People from Bekasi
Notable people from Bekasi include:
 * Adixi Lenzivio: football player
 * Luitenant der Chinezen Khouw Tian Sek: landlord, patriarch of the Khouw family of Tamboen
 * Shella Devi Aulia: badminton player
 * S. K. Trimurti: government minister, Independence activist, writer and journalist
 * Tutty Alawiyah: government minister and women's rights advocate
 * Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja: badminton player
 * Rinov Rivaldy: badminton player
 * Zanadin Fariz: football player
 * Arapenta Poerba: football player
 * Althaf Indie: football player
 * Syahwal Ginting: football player

Sister cities/towns

 * 🇧🇳 Mukim Mentiri, Brunei-Muara, Brunei Darussalam