A Boom in Data Centres Does Not Guarantee Indonesia AI Sovereignty: Komdigi’s Plan
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia — Growth in Indonesia’s data-centre capacity has not automatically strengthened the country’s sovereignty in artificial intelligence (AI).
The government says Indonesia needs to master the foundations of technology, from computing infrastructure to the semiconductor industry, to compete in the global technology supply chain.
Deputy Minister of Communication and Digital Nezar Patria said Indonesia needs to secure strategic points in the global supply chain to build an independent AI industry.
“When discussing our strategy for digital sovereignty, we must secure a number of choke points in the global supply chain to strengthen the AI industry,” Nezar said, according to a written statement on Friday (23 October 2026).
Nezar said digital sovereignty must be built as an ecosystem encompassing physical infrastructure, data, cyber security, governance, and research and innovation capabilities.
Mastery of technology, he said, should not be measured solely by the availability of data centres, but also by the country’s ability to develop and control the strategic technologies that underpin the AI ecosystem.
He stressed that computing power is a crucial foundation in global technological competition.
That capability depends on reliable energy supplies, robust connectivity, data centres, cloud computing and the semiconductor industry.
“In the age of artificial intelligence, computing occupies a position like electricity in the digital economy. Computing power is the electricity of the digital economy,” he said.
Indonesia’s data-centre capacity is currently estimated at around 580 megawatts and is targeted to rise to 1.3 gigawatts by 2027–28.
However, this remains below Malaysia’s capacity of around 3 gigawatts.
Nezar said Indonesia needs to strengthen planning and governance for data-centre development so that growth can sustainably meet the needs of the national digital economy.
“We need to organise and also put safeguards in place for data-centre development so that it can grow well in the future,” he said.
Alongside computing infrastructure, strengthening the semiconductor industry is important to the strategy of mastering technology further up the supply chain.
“We have nickel, bauxite, tin and gold, as well as a number of rare-earth metals that are currently in global demand to strengthen the semiconductor industry,” Nezar said.
He said this potential needs to be developed into higher-value components so that Indonesia does not remain merely a supplier of raw materials, but becomes part of the technology production process.
Strengthening upstream industries should go hand in hand with developing national computing capacity, research and innovation.
The government has set Indonesia Digital 2045 as the direction for building an independent, competitive and inclusive technology ecosystem.
To realise this vision, Indonesia needs to strengthen domestic technological capabilities through collaboration between the government, industry, universities and research institutions. The effort is expected to increase technological mastery and strengthen Indonesia’s role in the global supply chain.