Airlangga: Batam Data Centre Growth Hits 22%, Surpassing National Average
Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto has revealed that the data centre industry in Batam, Riau Islands, recorded an annual growth of approximately 22% year-on-year (yoy). This figure surpasses the national data centre industry growth average, which stands at around 19%.
According to Airlangga, this achievement indicates that Batam is further establishing itself as one of Indonesia’s digital economic centres, supported by international-scale investment. “The expansion of the data centre industry in Batam is growing by 22% annually, higher than the national average of around 19%. This is the right sector to drive Indonesia’s economic growth towards the 8% target,” Airlangga said in Batam on Monday (20/7/2026).
The statement was made following the inauguration of the Nongsa Changi Cable (NCC), an international submarine communications cable system connecting Batam and Singapore to strengthen digital connectivity between the two countries.
Airlangga noted that Batam is rapidly emerging as Indonesia’s digital gateway, particularly through the Nongsa Digital Park (NDP) area, which continues to attract investment from technology companies and global data centre operators. One operational project is a facility owned by BW Digital with a capacity of up to 120 megawatts (MW). Additionally, Singapore-based company DayOne is currently building a hyperscale data centre with a capacity of up to 450 MW in the same area. US technology firm Oracle has also selected Batam as the location for its Cloud Region development within Nongsa Digital Park. “Batam is very quickly emerging as Indonesia’s new gateway. The incoming investment shows this area is increasingly important in the regional digital ecosystem,” Airlangga stated.
Airlangga explained that the development of the data centre industry aligns with the digital transformation agenda, which is a priority of President Prabowo Subianto’s administration. He noted that the world is entering a new era marked by the widespread use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), requiring high-speed digital connectivity and greater data centre capacity. “In the AI era, both human-to-machine and machine-to-machine interactions require fast digital connections. Therefore, digital transformation must be supported by adequate infrastructure,” he said.
Indonesia possesses a large digital market. Currently, the number of internet users in Indonesia has reached around 235.26 million people, with broadband subscribers totalling approximately 99.5 million. He also revealed that Indonesia is the fourth largest potential AI market in Asia, after China, India, and Japan. This large digital market is considered a key factor in continuing to attract investment from global technology companies to Indonesia, particularly Batam.
To support the growth of the digital industry, the government is also strengthening energy infrastructure to ensure a reliable electricity supply for data centre operations. According to Airlangga, the government is developing the energy mix through the utilisation of renewable energy sources, such as geothermal energy in Sumatra and solar energy in Batam. “Digital infrastructure requires reliable energy and electricity. Indonesia is developing its energy and energy mix to supply these needs, such as geothermal energy in Sumatra and solar power in Batam,” he said. Furthermore, the government is targeting an additional power generation capacity of up to 100 gigawatts (GW) in the coming years. This target is part of strengthening strategic cooperation between Indonesia and Singapore, as well as supporting the acceleration of national digital economic development.