Indonesia Strengthens Digital Infrastructure with Nongsa-Changi Submarine Cable

The government continues to strengthen the development of national digital infrastructure supported by reliable connectivity, sustainable energy supply, and transparent business certainty. This effort aligns with President Prabowo Subianto’s directive to accelerate digital transformation. Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto stated that the landing of the Nongsa-Changi Submarine Cable System marks a physical foundation for a new digital corridor, reinforcing one of the fastest and closest digital connections in Southeast Asia between Indonesia and Singapore. The system, developed by Telin together with BW Digital, will deliver additional capacity of more than 1.6 petabits per second with latency of less than 2 milliseconds between the two countries. This low-latency capacity will support various strategic digital services, including advanced cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI) inference, high-frequency financial transactions, and the development of next-generation digital services. The Nongsa-Changi cable is not only connectivity infrastructure but also the physical foundation for the formation of a new digital corridor in the Southeast Asian region. Indonesia currently has 235.26 million internet users with a penetration rate of 81.72 percent, as well as 99.5 million fixed broadband subscribers. Indonesia is also the fourth largest potential AI market in Asia after China, India, and Japan, with a market value reaching USD 70 billion or around 6.4 percent of the Asian AI market. Batam is rapidly developing as Indonesia’s second digital gateway after Jakarta, supported by its strategic location, reliable connectivity, growing energy supply, and an investment-friendly policy environment. The NDP1 facility owned by BW Digital in Nongsa Digital Park has an IT capacity of 120 MW, whilst DayOne together with INA is developing a new hyperscale campus with contracted power supply lines heading towards 450 MW. Oracle has even selected Batam as its Indonesia North Cloud Region. This progress is inseparable from the Indonesia-Singapore 6 Working Group cooperation, particularly in the Batam-Bintan-Karimun area, which continues to drive the strengthening of connectivity and digital investment in the region. The Nongsa-Changi cable is a concrete follow-up to the Leaders’ Retreat meeting between President Prabowo Subianto and the Prime Minister of Singapore in early July 2026. The government is also strengthening energy supply and business certainty to support digital infrastructure development. Indonesia is targeting the expansion of renewable energy and mixed energy capacity to more than 100 GW within this decade. On another front, Indonesia has entered accession discussions for the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) on 26 June 2026, whilst the accession process for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) runs in parallel to build a transparent and predictable business environment. Airlangga Hartarto concluded by calling for the digital corridor to be built not only with cables and data centres, but also with trust, partnership, and a shared vision, hoping the benefits will be felt not only by Indonesia and Singapore but also by the entire ASEAN region and the world.