In line with the vision, the Nongsa Digital Park (NDP) in Batam was inaugurated by Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi and her Singaporean counterpart Vivian Balakrishnan in March 2018.

The development was inaugurated by the Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto as a special economic zone (KEK) on June 12, 2021 to explore investment opportunities in the digital industry.  NDP has a total investment target of Rp 39.9 trillion with a target of employing 16,500 people in 2040.

Sinar Mas Land and Citramas Group have been developing NDP since 2021, which continues to become a work space for dozens of Singapore-based companies and has channeled hundreds of Indonesian digital human resources to various international technology companies.  This development is inseparable from its collaboration with Glints, a Singapore-based job search site, which also has a branch office in NDP.

Glints regularly brings prospective clients to NDP so they can see first-hand the NDP ecosystem's workspace, office environment and workforce skills of digital school graduates.

On March 15, Glints collaborated with partners from NDP to invite Singaporean start-ups and industry players.  The visit was attended by Sinar Mas Land senior vice president commercial Margiman Ong and Citramas Group executive director Marco Bardelli.

Bardelli said that the NDP ecosystem was filled with well-known companies operating in the digital economy sector, edtech activities and other industries.

"NDP offers opportunities for Indonesian talent to enhance their own skills through a series of superior vocational education initiatives and find employment opportunities in our ecosystem.  NDP is also home to Infinite Studios, which operates the largest digital animation studio and soundstage studio in the region,” he explained.

Sinar Mas Land CEO of digital tech ecosystem and development Irawan Harahap explained that NDP was an expansion project from the Digital Hub that was developed by Sinar Mas Land and Citra Mas Group in Nongsa, Batam, Riau Islands.

"We develop NDP to significantly advance both the national and regional digital economy.  NDP is equipped with complete digital facilities, ranging from digital education centers, co-working spaces, offices, animation and film industry areas to data centers.  In addition, NDP is strengthened by the existence of a digital talent pool, which makes it very easy for companies, especially from ASEAN, to expand here," he said.

During the occasion, Glints commercial director Puay Lim noted that NDP is one of Singapore's gateways to explore the availability of global workforce.

"This area provides a lot of manpower.  With a short distance of only one hour from Singapore, Singaporean companies can find international talent able to produce digital products that can compete overseas.  NDP can produce high-quality human resources with digital education and training centers that consistently help improve quality and expertise."

NDP is a 166.45-hectare KEK in Batam equipped with the main infrastructure to support various digital economic activities held there, including data center infrastructure.  The area is strategically located, a 35-minute ferry ride from Singapore and 15 minutes away from Hang Nadim International Airport, Batam.

NDP is also equipped with various digital vocational activities, such as Infinite Learning-Apple Developer Academy and Purwadhika Digital Technology School.  Attracting Indonesian digital talent allows NDP to create jobs and support business and technology activities for international companies, especially those based in Singapore, which is known as a digital economy funding corridor in Southeast Asia.

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