Minister Airlangga, Singaporean Entrepreneurs Discuss Batam Data Center Development
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6 June 2024 07:23 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto held discussions with several technology sector entrepreneurs in Singapore on Wednesday, June 5, to explore the potential for Batam to emerge as the primary hub for international and domestic fiber optic cable networks, supporting investments in data centers.
Airlangga lauded Batam as an exceedingly competitive location for the digital industry ecosystem. The cumulative investment in data center development in Batam has soared to approximately US$3 billion or Rp49 trillion.
“The construction of a fiber optic cable network provides a connectivity edge for the construction of a data center in Batam,” he said in a written statement on Wednesday.
Airlangga stressed the need of more new fiber optic cables and route diversity for the data center, which could be provided by the cable landing point at Nongsa Digital Park, Batam.
During the meeting, attendees which included BW Digital CEO Ludovic Hutier, Princeton Digital Group Chief Technology Officer Asher Ling, and GAW Capital data center manager Kok-Chye Ong, deliberated on licensing concerns, water availability, and sustainable energy.
The entrepreneurs expected that additional hydropower in Sumatra which generates hundreds of MW of green energy could be channeled to Batam to augment the capacity of the upcoming data centers. The hydropower supply will be a game changer and bolster Batam's attractiveness as an investment destination.
In addition to Batam, the establishment of data centers is underway in various cities across Indonesia such as Jakarta, Surabaya, Cikarang, and Pekanbaru.
ILONA ESTHERINA
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