Batam set to host US$5bil AI data centre project

JAKARTA: Indonesia is moving ahead with plans for a US$5 billion artificial intelligence (AI) data centre project in Batam, Riau Islands province, aimed at strengthening the island’s digital industry ecosystem.

Batam Free Trade Zone and Free Port Authority (BP Batam) vice chairwoman Li Claudia Chandra said the 30-hectare development in Nongsa, Batam, would be undertaken by Equator Gate System Batam (EGSB), an AI data centre developer backed by China-based Range Intelligent Computing Technology Company Limited (RangeIDC).

“The presence of this Artificial Intelligence (AI) Data Centre investment marks a momentum to accelerate Batam’s transformation towards a technology-, innovation-, and digitalisation-based economy,” she said, according to ANTARA News Agency, on Monday.

RangeIDC, one of China’s largest data centre companies listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, selected Batam as its first international expansion location outside China for the development of a high-density AI data centre.

Li Claudia said the project was further strengthened through the signing of a Power Purchase Agreement between PT PLN Batam, a subsidiary of Indonesia’s state electricity company Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN), and EGSB to support the stable and sustainable power supply required for modern AI data centres.

Meanwhile, BP Batam Deputy for Investment Fary Djemy Francis said the authority would oversee the project through a fast-track execution mechanism to help accelerate investment realisation.

He said the project is expected to attract related strategic industries, including cloud computing, semiconductor ecosystems, and AI services, while creating around 700 to 800 professional jobs in the digital technology and data centre sectors through collaboration with universities in Batam.

“Batam is no longer developing solely as a manufacturing industrial zone but is transforming into an execution hub of the global digital industry,” he said.

المصدر: Free Malaysia Today