Jakarta, INTI - AI adoption in Indonesia has reached approximately 60% of users, both individuals and industries. This significant adoption has a direct impact on the growing demand for AI data center infrastructure. Currently, data center capacity requirements are around 500 MW. This figure is projected to double to 1,000 MW in the near future.
This surge in data center capacity demand also coincides with projected economic growth. AI is predicted to create up to Rp4,174 quadrillion in value. Indonesia currently has around 170 data centers, and this number continues to grow.
Singapore has also driven investment shifts to surrounding regions such as Johor in Malaysia and Batam. Batam is starting to be positioned as a new hub in Indonesia due to its proximity to Singapore, the city's combination of infrastructure, industrial areas, and strong investment support.
With investments and construction in Batam, this can develop the city into a regional data center to meet the high demand for AI infrastructure in Southeast Asia. With this trend, Indonesia is considered to be on a strategic path to becoming a key player in the global AI ecosystem.
The Complexity of Data Center Development in Indonesia
As of April 2026, Indonesia has approximately 170 data centers, and this number is expected to continue to grow. AI data centers, with a single GPU rack weighing approximately 2 tons, require horizontal scaling structures due to its large scale designs. This has led to a low number of construction sites in urban areas.
Aside from Batam, many new developments have shifted to the outskirts of Jakarta, such as Cibitung and Karawang, enabling large-scale expansion. Data centers in urban areas are more focused on workloads that require low latency, such as banking and financial services.
In addition to location factors, data centers require significant energy and water needs. AI computing requires 10 times or even more energy than traditional computing. A single GPU rack in a data center can use 20-100 kW of energy. Data center cooling systems also require large volumes of water.
However, AI adoption in Indonesia is still largely in the exploratory phase. This means there is a gap between infrastructure readiness and market readiness, which will determine the next scale up.
Conclusion
AI adoption in Indonesia is driving a surge in data center capacity demand from 500 MW to 1,000 MW in the near future. This growth is expected to create economic value of up to Rp4,174 quadrillion. Batam is projected to become a new data center hub due to its proximity to Singapore and its supporting infrastructure and industrial areas. Meanwhile, data center development is also shifting to Jakarta's outskirts, such as Cibitung and Karawang, due to the needs of big scale space, energy, and cooling systems.
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