Pekanbaru

The words "pekan" (market) and "baru" (new) in the Malay for "new market" are the source of the names Pekanbaru and Pekan Baru. Pekanbaru is used to be known as "new market" because back then Pekanbaru was a huge market which is known among the surrounding areas. It was formerly known as "Senapelan", which comes from the word "Sena", a tree that symbolises the region. Batin was the tribe chief at the time. In which around this time, this area transforms into Dusun Payung Sekaki, which is situated near the mouth of the Siak River, as it continues to grow into a new urban residential area. …

On 14 December 1745, the Siak region was ceded by the Sultan of Johor Sulaiman Badrul Alam Shah from the Johor Sultanate to the Dutch East India Company (VOC) under the terms of a treaty in return for Dutch help against the enemies of Johor. Siak was put under Dutch administration. The Sultan moved residence to a palace in Senapelan built in 1760. The origin of Pekanbaru was inseparable from the existence of the Siak River as a distributing route for commodities from the Minangkabau Highlands to the Strait of Malacca. During the 18th century, the Senapelan region on the banks of the Siak River became a market for the Minangkabau merchants. Over time, the area evolved into a crowded residential area. …

Pekanbaru has a tropical rainforest climate under the Köppen climate classification. As with many cities with an equatorial climate, the temperature only varies a little throughout the year. The hottest month is May with average temperature 27.6 °C (81.7 °F), while the coolest month is January with average temperature 26.4 °C (79.5 °F). The precipitation accumulation also remains constant throughout the year with no real dry season. The month with most precipitation is November with precipitation total 312 millimetres (12.3 in), while the least precipitation is July with precipitation total 123 millimetres (4.8 in).

After oil was discovered in the region in the 1930s, Pekanbaru's economy has depended heavily on oil revenues which caused the city to have the highest per capita income in Indonesia. Most of Indonesia's petroleum is produced in Riau, and much of Pekanbaru's economy is based on the petroleum industry. International oil companies, prominently Chevron from the US, as well as other Indonesian companies, have established their offices in the region. The city is connected by road to an oil refining and exporting port in Dumai. Many facilities and infrastructures such as an airport, stadiums, housing areas, schools, bridges that cross the Siak River in Pekanbaru, the roads in Rumbai and the roads to Dumai, were partially or fully financed by oil companies in the area. Pekanbaru is really close with some of the home of mega-companies, such as PT Riau Andalan Pulp Paper, PT. Indah Kiat, PT. …

The tradition of Petang Megang when entering the month of Ramadan has been carried out since the time of the Siak Sultanate and is still held by the people of Pekanbaru City.

There are several modes of transportation in Pekanbaru such as taxi, bus, oplet (share taxi), bajaj (auto rickshaw), ojek (motorcycle taxi) and Trans Metro Pekanbaru (bus rapid transit). However, due to the rapidly increasing number of motorised vehicles, the traffic congestion that occurs on some roads such as Jalan Sudirman, Jalan Riau and Jalan HR. Subrantas that mainly connect populous sub-districts in the city cannot be avoided any more particularly during weekends and holidays. These problems initiated the government of Pekanbaru to come up with plans to solve these matters, especially within 10 to 15 years ahead. For land transport, Pekanbaru is connected to Padang, Medan, Jambi, Palembang, and other cities or regions in Riau Province and Sumatra Island by the existence of Bandar Raya Payung Sekaki Bus Terminal. …