Batam - Nongsa Digital Town, Batam, was launched. Nongsa Digital Town or Nongsa D-Town is the result of the bilateral cooperation between Indonesia and Singapore to encourage the development of the digital industry in Batam.

"I really hope that the opening of Nongsa D-Town will become an important milestone for the development of the digital industry in Batam and become a stepping stone to enhance cooperation between Indonesia and Singapore in the future," said Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto at the virtual launch of Nongsa Digital Town, Tuesday (2/3/2021).

According to him, the launch of Nongsa D-Town can be proof of mutually beneficial cooperation between the public and private sectors of the two countries.

The development of the digital industry in Batam is in line with Batam's thematic development strategy in the Master Plan for the Acceleration of Development in the Batam-Bintan-Karimun-Tanjungpinang region.

To achieve the growth target of 5.8 percent by 2020-2025, BBKT regions need an average annual investment of IDR 75 trillion. Among other areas, Batam will have a significant role because it is expected to provide the largest contribution to the total investment that enters the area.

Batam has a geo-strategic advantage due to its close range to Singapore. Batam is expected to function as a digital bridge to connect Singapore to other developing cities in Indonesia.

"One of the highlights of our bilateral cooperation which was recently endorsed by Minister Chan and me at the 10th Ministerial Meeting in 2020 is the development of the digital industry in Batam through the establishment of a data center," said Airlangga.

Airlangga explained the importance of digital technology in this pandemic. According to him, digital technology has helped the government and the private sector in streamlining complex business processes. In addition, digital technology has also helped promote a more practical and flexible work environment during a pandemic.

"After the pandemic, I see the need for businesses to be more adaptive to technological transformation, so that workers can also understand more digitally," said Airlangga.