The development of Nongsa D-Town in Batam is projected to speed up the development of the digital economy in the country. Thousands of young digital industry workers will be employed there.
By
PANDU WIYOGA
·4 minutes read
BATAM, KOMPAS — The development of the Nongsa D-Town digital economy center in Batam, Riau Islands, is targeted to be completed in 2023. The area, which will serve as a headquarters for startups in Indonesia, is expected to employ 8,000 digital workers.
Nongsa D-Town, which is being built in a collaboration between Citramas Group and Sinar Mas Land, is an expansion of the Nongsa Digital Park, which was inaugurated by the Indonesian foreign minister and the foreign minister of Singapore in 2018. Nongsa D-Park is home to 1,000 digital workers from 100 multinational companies. With the Nongsa D-Town project, the area of Nongsa D-Park is now being increased by 5,000 square meters to a total of 62 hectares.
Nongsa D-Town’s development was inaugurated online by Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto on Tuesday (2/3/2021). The existence of Nongsa D-Town, he said, would be a digital bridge that played an important role in connecting Singapore with other growth centers in Indonesia.
"Nongsa D-Town is a real manifestation of cooperation between the government and private sector in Indonesia and Singapore. I hope the development of this area will have a significant impact on the growth of the digital industry, as well as support bilateral cooperation between Indonesia and Singapore," said Airlangga.
The global trend during the pandemic has led to online platforms opening up many opportunities for companies engaged in technology.
Singaporean Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing also gave a statement at the inauguration. He hoped that Nongsa D-Town would make it easier for young Indonesian digital talent to access job opportunities at technology companies based in Singapore. It would be easier for technology companies in Singapore to get superior talent from Indonesia.
"The global trend during the pandemic has led to online platforms opening up many opportunities for companies engaged in technology. Nongsa D-Town is aiming for those opportunities. More broadly, as long as Indonesia and Singapore continue to work together, the economies of the two countries will grow stronger after the epidemic is over," he said.
The cooperative effort between Indonesia and Singapore in Batam was established in 1973, during the era of president Soeharto and Singaporean prime minister Lee Kuan Yew. Indonesian Ambassador to Singapore Suryopratomo said that the construction of the Nongsa D- Park was an effort by the two countries to realize their old dreams, which were then adapted to the needs of the times, namely digital technology.
Last year, startups in Nongsa D-Park, including Infinite Studio and the Apple Developer Academy, held four animation film production training sessions for approximately 1,600 young people from Indonesia. Suryopratomo hoped that such educational activities would be multiplied along with the development of Nongsa D-Park into Nongsa D-Town.
Nongsa D-Park senior director Marco Bardelli has been committed to increasing educational facilities and activities to help improve the digital competence of young people. In the future, a job training institute will be built in Nongsa D-Town to prepare prospective workers for recruitment by multinational technology companies.
Strategy
Marco said that in line with the construction of Nongsa D-Town, targeted for 2023, a number of developments will continue to be carried out over the next 10 years. After its completion, the area is estimated to be able to employ around 8,000 digital workers. Of that number, most of the quota is prioritized for Indonesian citizens.
"Reflecting on the larger digital ecosystem, such as Silicon Valley, diversity is the key to creativity and development. Therefore, although most of the workers come from Indonesia, it is still possible that a number of companies will need foreign workers,” said Marco.
He predicted that Nongsa D-Town would attract the interest of many world start-ups that were eyeing the Southeast Asian market. The location of Nongsa D-Town in Batam is strategic because it is close to Singapore, where many of the world\'s technology companies are headquartered. However, compared to Singapore, the cost of investing in Batam is lower.
Institute for Development of Economics and Finance economist Bhima Yudhistira said the choice of Batam to be a bridge for the digital economy was quite reasonable. The island, which is 40 minutes by sea from Singapore, has adequate basic infrastructure for electricity, water and roads. Moreover, several data centers owned by the government and private companies are in Batam.
The location of Nongsa D-Town in Batam is strategic because it is close to Singapore, where many of the world\'s technology companies are headquartered.
However, the government still needs to add more educational institutions to provide quality human resources. The government also needs to provide special incentives for start-ups investing in Batam.
Sinar Mas Land chief of digital tech ecosystems and development Irawan Harahap said several startups headquartered in Bumi Serpong Damai city in South Tangerang had expressed interest in expanding to Batam. "It is hoped that, in the second half of 2021, a part of their developments can be seen in Nongsa," he said.