Sorong (city)

Sorong
Nuwar
City
Sorong

Location of the town in the Bird's Head Peninsula

Sorong

Location of the town in Indonesia

Coordinates: 0°52′S 131°15′E / 0.867°S 131.250°E / -0.867; 131.250
Country Indonesia
Province West Papua
Area
 • City 656.64 km2 (253.53 sq mi)
Population (2014)
 • City 219,958
 • Density 173/km2 (450/sq mi)
 • Metro 345,342
Time zone Eastern Standard Time (UTC+9)
Area code(s) 0951
Website www.sorongkota.go.id

Sorong is a chartered coastal city in the eastern Indonesian province of West Papua. Its only land borders are with Sorong Regency. It is the gateway to Indonesia's Raja Ampat Islands, species rich coral reef islands in an area considered the heart of the world's coral reef biodiversity. It also is the logistics hub for Indonesia's thriving eastern oil and gas frontier. Sorong has experienced exponential growth since 2010, and further growth is anticipated as Sorong becomes linked by road to other frontier towns in Papua's Bird's Head Peninsula. The city had a population of 190,625 at the 2010 Census; the latest official estimate (as at January 2014) is 219,958. It is served by the Sorong Airport.[1]

Administrative districts

Sorong City comprises six districts (kecamatan), tabulated below with their populations at the 2010 Census:[2]

District Population
2010 census
Sorong Barat
(West Sorong)		 35,306
Sorong Kepulauan
(Sorong Islands)		 9,711
Sorong Timur
(East Sorong)		 26,694
Sorong Utara
(North Sorong)		 45,001
Sorong district 31,264
Sorong Mandi 42,539

Etymology

The origin of Sorong's name comes from the word Soren, which means "deep and wavy ocean" in Biak language. The name was first used by the Biak-Numfor people who sailed to different islands before they finally decided to settle down in Raja Ampat Islands. When the Biak-Numfor people came to the place called "Daratan Maladum", they decided to call it Soren. After centuries of contact with Chinese merchants, European missionaries, and people from Maluku and Sangihe-Talaud, the name underwent further change into Sorong.[3]

Container port

A container port was built in Sorong with an annual container-handling capacity of 500,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) and cost Rp.800 billion (US$93.6 million). Construction began in early 2012 and was expected to be complete in mid-2013.[4]

National broadcasters

Sister Cities

References

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Sorong.
  1. ↑ Sorong Airport – Directorate General of Civil Aviation
  2. ↑ Biro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011.
  3. ↑ Etymology of Sorong
  4. ↑ Container port to be built in Sorong | The Jakarta Post

Coordinates: 0°52′S 131°15′E / 0.867°S 131.250°E / -0.867; 131.250

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