BP Batam Strengthens Digital Sector Investment Through Nongsa Digital Park

Batam (ANTARA) - The Batam Concession Agency (BP Batam) in the Riau Islands (Kepri) is strengthening investment realisation and digital sector development through the Nongsa Digital Park (NDP) area as an epicentre of technology activities and data centres in the city. Head of BP Batam Amsakar Achmad stated that the presence of data centres and digital infrastructure in Batam is not just a passing trend. “Nongsa Digital Park is a positive early indicator because it shows investment interest, cross-border partnerships, and growing activity in data centres, technology development, and the digital economy,” he said in an official statement received in Batam on Friday. Realised investment in the digital sector specifically reached Rp8.557 trillion in 2025. Employment in the Nongsa Special Economic Zone (KEK) in the fourth quarter of 2025 was recorded at 836 people, with a much broader indirect impact through supply chains and supporting services. Furthermore, BP Batam is also investing in human resource development. Through NDP, programmes such as Apple Academy, IBM Hybrid Cloud Academy, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University, and Epic Games have been established to produce local digital talent. Besides Singapore as the dominant investor, countries such as Hong Kong, the United States, and Malaysia are also actively investing in Batam’s digital sector. Amsakar stated that Batam’s attractiveness is not solely about cost efficiency. “What is stronger is the combination of strategic factors: geographical proximity to Singapore, fast connectivity, and the opportunity to build cross-border operational models to support regional needs,” he said. Amid developments requiring large and reliable electricity supplies, BP Batam is promoting the development of Solar Power Plants (PLTS) and green energy solutions as an inseparable component of Batam’s investment ecosystem. The high investment realisation in the electricity, gas, and water sector, valued at Rp5.80 trillion in 2025, shows that energy infrastructure is a priority for investors entering Batam, including the need for clean and sustainable energy sources to support data centre operations. “BP Batam is committed to ensuring that digital growth does not come at the expense of environmental sustainability,” he said. The integration of renewable energy, including PLTS, is part of the area’s development roadmap so that Batam can meet Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards as a key requirement for global investment. “Our digital transformation is real. We are committed to making Batam a competitive, measurable, and investor-friendly location, especially for the sustainable digital sector,” he said. Furthermore, amid the emergence of the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ), which is also targeting the data centre and digital economy market, Amsakar rejected a framing of competition. “We see this not merely as competition, but as an opportunity to build a complementary ecosystem. Singapore is strong as a global headquarters and services hub; Johor offers capacity expansion; and Batam has unique characteristics such as FTZ/SEZ status, an industrial ecosystem, maritime logistics, and operational proximity to Singapore,” he said. In BP Batam’s vision, the area can form an integrated regional digital and industrial corridor, where data centres and digital activities are distributed in a network model according to business efficiency and operational needs. In addition, BP Batam also launched the MANTAB platform on 8 December 2025, a digital-based job matching system designed to connect human resource availability with industry needs directly and in an integrated manner.