"The Communication and Informatics Minister's visit to Batam is not only about the national data center. The (general idea of the visit relates) to digital transformation. Well, one of the strategic (agendas) for this visit is also to encourage the growth of foreign investment in data centers in Indonesia," director of government information application services at the ministry’s Directorate General of Informatics Applications, Bambang Dwi Anggono, said, according to a press release received on Saturday.
Minister Plate has been on a visit to Batam since Thursday (June 23, 2022). . Over the course of his visit, he is scheduled to discuss the construction of the national data center with Batam Deputy Mayor Amsakar Achmad, regional secretary for Riau Islands, Jefrydin, and the Government of the Republic of Korea.
Plate is also scheduled to review the location for the national data center in the Nongsa Special Economic Zone.
The ministry has urged the government of the Republic of Korea to pursue a partnership in data center development and financing.
South Korea will fund the national data center under the government-to-government (G2G) scheme. During a meeting with the ministry some time ago, Korea had expressed its interest in investing in national data centers at other locations, such as Nusantara in East Kalimantan and Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara.
Anggono said that the discussion with the South Korean government also included smart cities.
“The Home Affairs and Defense Minister of the Republic of Korea, H.E. Lee Sang Min, said that their government had a smart city program and wanted to cooperate with the Indonesian government, particularly in terms of smart cities in the Nusantara capital city area," he informed.
The Korean government also offered cooperation in the Digital Talent Academy program, 5G research management, and frequency spectrum management.
Related news: Government readies to build four PDN to support data-driven policies
Batam national data center
Batam has been chosen as the location for a national data center based on supporting infrastructure, such as fiber-optic infrastructure, electricity supply, water supply, as well as direct links to the global Internet backbone.
“The national data center is expected to make a major contribution to national data management. So, in building a national data center, there are some main requirements which need to be observed in accordance with the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) 942 standard, as an international standard, which includes selection of location, natural conditions, infrastructure, and so on. Batam meets those criteria," he explained.
Anggono said that they had faced some issues in selecting an area that could support the development of a global standard data center, an area where natural disasters rarely occur. In addition, the location also needed to be free from political and sociocultural conflicts.
The national data center development project has been registered in the Indonesian Green Book. The center’s feasibility has been studied taking various aspects into account.
The next stage is the auction stage. The Batam national data center is currently at the auction stage for supervisors.
The winner of the auction will be announced next month, so the data center's development could begin no later than the end of October this year.
Related news: Indonesia-S Korea cooperate to build data center worth US$100 million
Related news: Govt unveils communal intellectual property national data center app
Translator: Natisha A, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Suharto
Copyright © ANTARA 2022
