China-based Range Intelligent Computing Technology Company Limited (RangeIDC) is set to invest US$ 5 billion in an artificial intelligence (AI) data center project in Batam, Riau Islands province, in Indonesia. The proposed data center campus will be located on a 30-hectare site in Nongsa. Construction would be undertaken by PT Equator Gate System Batam (EGSB), an AI data centre developer in Indonesia backed by RangeIDC.
Ahead of its construction commencement, RangeIDC has secured power through a Power Purchase Agreement between PT PLN Batam, a subsidiary of Indonesia’s state electricity company Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN), and EGSB to supply electricity to the data center.
Listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, RangeIDC is one of the largest data center companies in China. The Batam data center will be its first international expansion.
“This AI data center investment marks a pivotal moment to accelerate Batam’s transformation towards a technology-, innovation-, and digitalisation-based economy,” said Li Claudia Chandra, Vice Chairwoman of Batam Free Trade Zone and Free Port Authority (BP Batam), according to ANTARA News Agency in late May.
The massive investment is expected to drive related industries to the island including cloud computing, semiconductor ecosystems, and AI services, while creating about 700 to 800 professional jobs, said Fary Djemy Francis, BP Batam Deputy for Investment. He added that the authority would fast-track execution mechanisms to help accelerate the realisation of the investment.
“Batam is no longer developing solely as a manufacturing industrial zone, but is transforming into a global digital hub,” he said.