Sinar Mas Land breaks ground on its Digital Hub

• Sits on 25.86ha in BSD City and targets startups, tech leaders and the digital community
• Construction is scheduled to be completed by 2019 at a cost of US$3.8 to US$5.3 trillion

SINAR Mas Land on May 18 held a ground-breaking ceremony to mark the start of constructions on its Digital Hub in BSD City, Tangerang.

The Digital Hub sits on 25.86ha and is an initiative by Sinar Mas Land to create a space for digital technology players including startups, technology leaders and digital communities. It will also transform BSD City into an integrated smart city.

“Digital Hub will become the ideal place for Research and Development (R&D) centres, education institutions that focus on IT and digital technology, as well as the creative industry. With this project, I hope that we can contribute towards development in the digital ecosystem,” said Sinar Mas Land group chief executive officer Michael Widjaja during the ceremony.

The infrastructure development of Digital Hub will begin this year and construction is scheduled to be completed by 2019 at an estimated cost of five to seven trillion rupiah (US$3.8 trillion to US$5.3 trillion). The project is internally funded.

Digital Hub will be developed under the mixed-use concept where facilities for business, retail and lifestyles will be included.

Designed by US architect NBBJ, Digital Hub will come with fibre optic connections and access to the highway, as well as feature the OneSmile app to connect residents of BSD City and people who work there.

With Silicon Valley as an inspiration, Michael feels that Digital Hub will become Indonesia’s version of the US famous technology centre.

“To create on our own version, we have to localise it by providing the facilities that the digital community needs when they use the Digital Hub. This is also our strategy to draw more tenants into our Digital Hub and keep up with the demand in digital development,” Michael explains.

Recently, Sinar Mas Land had managed to attract several companies to open offices in Digital Hub by 2019. These tenants, which include big IT companies, startups and schools are Huawei, Apple R&D Centre, MyRepublic, Sale Stock, Orami, EV Hive, Purwadhika, GeeksFarm, and Plug and Play Indonesia.

There are challenges in the Indonesian IT sector and this is why many are drawn to Digital Hub. Michael says he has to “grab” the community tightly and keep it developing.

“The key in this industry is the community, especially the IT community. If we can provide interesting facilities for them, they will come automatically because they are part of the ecosystem.”

Ultimate goal

Michael tells Digital News Asia that his ultimate goal in transforming BSD City into an integrated smart city with the Digital Hub is to a create talent pool especially in the IT ecosystem and share knowledge through education.

“We are the facilitator. We want to enable startups which are perhaps still in the early stages to scale in an optimum fashion. The education system is also a crucial key in Digital Hub. We are going to work with coding and animation schools and universities as mediums for education,” he concludes.

Related Stories:

Sinar Mas Land launches ‘OneSmile’ app

MyRepublic makes its presence felt at the BSD Green Office Park

Singapore startup Temploy secures equity investment from Indonesia’s WGS

Sinar Mas Land launches GeeksFarm and WGS Hub with two partners

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