ADHI was initiated on March 11, 1960 when the Minister of Public Works set Architecten-Ingenicure-en Annnemersbedrijf  “Associatie Selle en de Bruyn, Reyerse en de Vries N.V” (Associatie N.V.), one of the Dutch-owned company that was nationalized into PN Adhi Karya. Nationalization was intended to spur infrastructure development in Indonesia.

ADHI status changed to a Limited Company on June 1, 1974 and approved by the Minister of Justice. ADHI was 100% owned by the Government of the Republic of Indonesia until end of 2003 when the Republic of Indonesia through the Minister of SOE, as the Authority of Shareholders, removed 49% of its shares to be offered to public through Initial Public Offering (IPO). This decision was followed by the registration of ADHI’s shares in the Jakarta Stock Exchange (now Indonesia Stock Exchange) which also made ADHI as the first listed State-Owned construction company in the stock exchange.