Brokopondo

Brokopondo
District capital
Brokopondo is located in Suriname
Brokopondo
Brokopondo
Location in Suriname
Coordinates: 5°4′N 54°58′W / 5.067°N 54.967°W / 5.067; -54.967
Country Suriname
DistrictBrokopondo District
ResortCentrum
Elevation
72 m (236 ft)
Population
 (2011)[1]
 • Total
est. 2,480

Brokopondo is the capital town of the Brokopondo District, Suriname.[2] It is located on the west shore of the Suriname river, just north of the Afobaka dam, 105 kilometers (65 miles) south-east of Suriname capital city of Paramaribo. Brokopondo can be reached via the Avobakaweg from Paranam to Afobaka.[1]

Nearby is a granite monument made by sculptor Jo Rens, displaying two men: one standing with a parrot and one sitting and writing. It is meant to symbolize the past and the future. There is also a large beach next to the Suriname river near the city centre.[3] Demographically, the largest ethnic group of Brokopondo are the Maroons.[4]

The Brokopondo Development Plan has designated the town of Brokopondo as one of the two major centres in the region - the other being Brownsweg - with a focus on tourism.[1] There is a large beach next to the Suriname river near the city centre called Anani Beach.[5] Additional developments will be a proper city centre, a bus station, a large hotel with at least 200 beds, and a centre for cultural studies.[1]

Brokopondo is home to a Medische Zending healthcare centre,[6] hotel, school, and police station.[3] In 2014, multi functional centre was opened.[7] On 10 January 2020, a waste incinerator was installed.[8]

A growing concern is the activity of gold prospectors who not only poison the rivers with mercury, but are digging away the edge of the town.[9]

  1. ^ a b c d "REGIONAAL PLAN BROKOPONDO" (PDF). Planning Office Suriname (in Dutch). Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  2. ^ "Distrikt Brokopondo 1". Suriname.nu (in Dutch). Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Distrikt Brokonpondo 2". Suriname.nu (in Dutch). Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  4. ^ "2012 Census Resorts Suriname" (PDF). Spang Staging. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 December 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  5. ^ "Anani Strand". Trip Advisor (in Dutch). Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  6. ^ "Zorggebied". Medische Zending.sr (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 30 September 2022. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  7. ^ "Brokopondo is het zevende gedecentraliseerd district". Star Nieuws (in Dutch). Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  8. ^ "Brokopondo Centrum voorzien van vuilverbrandingsoven". De Boodschap.today (in Dutch). Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  9. ^ "Goudwinning in Zuid Suriname vreet aan Brokopondo Centrum". Waterkant.net (in Dutch). Retrieved 15 May 2020.