Batam construction update: The Indonesian island on the other side of the Singapore Strait

The island of Batam is part of the Riau Islands in Indonesia, on the other side of the Singapore Strait. Batam was listed as the fastest-growing city in the world in 2015, with its proximity to Singapore being a major advantage.

Despite this mind-blowing statistic, Batam is not the sort of place you read about on a regular basis. In Indonesian media, the main news has been about the airport expansion and a new bridge from Batam to Bintan (the main tourist island of the Riau Islands).

This is why I like to visit for myself and see what it is like on the ground. I visited Batam in August 2022, and this article shows the progress of some of the big projects under construction.

Batam Construction Projects

CitraPlaza Nagoya

Batam is so haphazardly planned that there isn’t a place that feels like the city centre. Even though there is a “Batam Center”, it is Nagoya that most resembles the centre of Batam.

Nagoya (no relation to Nagoya) has more shops and places to stay, and it is where one of the biggest developments on the island is happening.

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