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Kuantan is the state
capital of Pahang, the 3rd largest state in Malaysia. It is situated near
the mouth of the Kuantan River and faces the South China Sea. If one
measures the distance along the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, it is
located roughly halfway between
Singapore and
Kota Bharu. Kuantan is also
considered as the social, economic and commercial hub for East Coast
Peninsular Malaysia due to its strategic location. Rapid development since
early 21st century has transformed and modernized Kuantan.
Kuantan in the first century was a part of Chih-Tu empire. In the 11th
century, this piece of land was conquered by another small empire called
Pheng-Kheng before being taken over by the Siamese during 12th century.
During the 15th century, Kuantan was ruled by the Malacca Empire.
One of its major economic activities is tourism. Domestically, it is
famous for the production of handicrafts, batik, keropok (dried fish
crackers) and salted fish. Kuantan serves as the administrative and
commercial capital of Pahang. Trade and commerce are also important in the
economy of the town.
The timber industry, ice cream and the fishing industry also play major
roles in the local economy.
Kuantan is connected to Kuala Lumpur via the East Coast Expressway and
Karak Expressway. Kuantan is now more accessible by road transportation
than before, primarily because of the opening of East Coast Expressway.
The East Coast Expressway also links Kuantan to other major towns in
Pahang. Two other important east coast towns:
Kota Bharu and
Kuala
Terengganu are connected via coastal trunk roads.
Scenic coastal roads that runs through Mersing,
Kuala Rompin and
Pekan
also links Kuantan to Johor Bahru and
Singapore. This route winds through
verdant forests and small coastal towns, and a stretch of beautiful quiet
beaches at Rompin and Lanjut.
Sultan
Haji Ahmad Shah Airport is located 15 km from Kuantan city. This is
the only airport in Pahang State that is controlled by Malaysia Airport Bhd. Currently, there are two airlines that fly to Kuantan, namely,
Malaysia Airline System (MAS), Firefly. Firefly has scheduled direct
flights to Singapore. This is plan is much more trustworthy compared with AirAsia's one because Firefly has accomplished the flight from
Singapore
to
Subang Airport located in a miniature distance from
Kuala Lumpur.
Currently, planes from Kuantan fly only to
KLIA and
Singapore Changi
Airport. Seasonal flights to Taipei are operated by China Airlines.
Sources:
Wikipedia
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