Airlangga: Data centres key to unlocking 8 percent economic growth
Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto stated that the development of data centres is one of the main levers to propel Indonesia’s economic growth higher. He noted that data centres are crucial infrastructure for advancing the digital economy and artificial intelligence (AI), which are projected to be future engines of economic growth.
“Indonesia aims to grow more than 8 percent, and one of the levers is the digital economy. The key is AI, and AI will exist if the data centre infrastructure is sound,” Airlangga said at the 1-Decade IDPRO 2026 event in Jakarta on Wednesday.
Airlangga appreciated IDPRO’s contribution over the past decade in advancing the national data centre industry. According to him, the data centre sector has become a game changer for the Indonesian economy, driven by the increasing need for digital infrastructure to support economic activity and technological transformation.
The government is also strengthening digital cooperation at the regional level through the ASEAN Digital Economic Framework Agreement (DEFA), which is expected to be signed at the upcoming ASEAN Summit. The implementation of DEFA is projected to increase ASEAN’s digital economic potential while opening greater opportunities for Indonesia to strengthen its position as a regional digital economy hub.
Furthermore, Airlangga assessed that Indonesia possesses several advantages for developing the data centre industry, including land availability, competitive energy prices, and support from diverse domestic energy sources such as geothermal, solar, and hydropower. The government continues to prepare supporting infrastructure to ensure reliable energy availability for data centre development across various regions in Indonesia.
Beyond data centre development, Airlangga encouraged strengthening the national semiconductor industry through cooperation with British technology company ARM for chip design. This initiative is expected to become the foundation for developing future technologies, including AI, the Internet of Things (IoT), autonomous vehicles, and quantum computing.
To support the development of this ecosystem, the government is targeting the training of 15,000 young talents in the semiconductor field over the next three years. The programme is expected to strengthen national human resource capacity while fostering a generation of digital engineers capable of competing at the global level.
“We must maintain this momentum. Compared to other ASEAN countries, I can say Indonesia is more prepared. Therefore, the development of digital talent, data centres, and the semiconductor industry must continue to be encouraged so that Indonesia does not fall behind in the global digital economy competition,” Airlangga added.