Jakarta. Real estate developer Sinar Mas Land has recently announced the construction of a new building at BSD City’s digital hub, in hopes to further expedite the country’s technology industry. 

The new building, known as the Knowledge Hub, is expected to finish construction by 2024. 

According to Sinar Mas Land, the construction will undergo two phases. The initial phase Knowledge Hub will sit on 1.1-hectare land, with a total investment of Rp 750 billion (around $52.1 million). Designing the phase-one building is NBBJ, a seasoned American architecture firm with works for Microsoft and Samsung, among others. Sinar Mas Land also works alongside Indonesian interior design consultant Metaphor.

Sinar Mas Land has been seeking to transform its flagship township project BSD City into a smart, integrated digital city. To this end, the property giant developed the Digital Hub, a 26-hectare commercial area dedicated for tech companies and startups. The area is also now home to tech household names like Traveloka and Grab.

“Digital transformation is one of the things we should consider in building the digital economy and driving national economic recovery. Among others with the development of the Digital Hub in BSD City,” Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno said, as quoted from a press statement.

“Hopefully, with Digital Hub BSD City, Indonesian technology companies can further flourish to boost Indonesia’s digital economy.”

According to Sinar Mas Land chief digital tech ecosystem & development Irawan Harahap, Digital Hub is an ambitious project that the company builds with optimism for Indonesia’s tech industry. Currently, there are dozens of startups to multinational companies. Irawan expects that the number will continue to increase.

“The construction of the phase-one Knowledge Hub is our effort to facilitate the increasing needs of the tech industry. This office building project that is dedicated for tech companies will of course generate recurring income for PT BSD Tbk as the holding company of Sinar Mas Land,” Irawan said.

Indonesian e-commerce company Sirclo has been part of Digital Hub BSD City’s ecosystem since 2018. As the company grows, Sirclo has decided to relocate its head office to the phase-one Knowledge Hub building in 2024.

Transit-Oriented Development

Sinar Mas Land is also developing a transit-oriented development (TOD) in Intermoda BSD City.  This is in partnership with Mitbana, a joint venture between Japan’s Mitsubishi Corporation and Singapore’s Surbana Jurong. 

It will integrate a number of transportation modes, including commuter lines, shuttle bus BSD Link, airport bus, as well as a park-and-ride facility. Intermoda TOD will also pilot a smart mobility solution to improve BSD City-Jakarta connectivity. 

“We look forward to the new stage of growth and great spirit that BSD City’s Knowledge Hub will bring. As well as the synergy when we make use of technology to introduce smart, sustainable facilities and services at Intermoda TOD,” Mitbana chief executive officer Gareth Wong said.

The Intermoda TOD will use a 6-hectare land, and will begin construction in 2022. The project is part of Mitbana and Sinar Mas Land’s collaboration to convert more than 100 hectares of land in BSD City into a TOD consisting of apartments, residential, commercial, lifestyle facilities, and public transportation facilities.