diff --git a/import-automation/workflow/ingestion-helper/cloudbuild.yaml b/import-automation/workflow/ingestion-helper/cloudbuild.yaml
index 632b3bf185..42a0a222ac 100644
--- a/import-automation/workflow/ingestion-helper/cloudbuild.yaml
+++ b/import-automation/workflow/ingestion-helper/cloudbuild.yaml
@@ -28,4 +28,4 @@ substitutions:
 
 images:
   - '${_AR_REPO_URL}/${_IMAGE_NAME}:${_TAG}'
-  - '${_AR_REPO_URL}/${_IMAGE_NAME}:latest'
+  - '${_AR_REPO_URL}/${_IMAGE_NAME}:latest'
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/import-automation/workflow/ingestion-helper/pyproject.toml b/import-automation/workflow/ingestion-helper/pyproject.toml
index 42ceb6ca3a..9fafa50fed 100644
--- a/import-automation/workflow/ingestion-helper/pyproject.toml
+++ b/import-automation/workflow/ingestion-helper/pyproject.toml
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ build-backend = "hatchling.build"
 [project]
 name = "ingestion-helper"
 version = "0.1.0"
+requires-python = ">=3.12"
 description = "Ingestion helper for Data Commons Spanner ingestion"
 dependencies = [
     "functions-framework==3.*",
diff --git a/import-automation/workflow/ingestion-helper/schema.sql b/import-automation/workflow/ingestion-helper/schema.sql
index 432dd84bf6..45ddd4f748 100644
--- a/import-automation/workflow/ingestion-helper/schema.sql
+++ b/import-automation/workflow/ingestion-helper/schema.sql
@@ -133,4 +133,8 @@ CREATE TABLE VariableMetadata (
   place_types ARRAY<STRING(1024)>,
 ) PRIMARY KEY(variable_measured, import_name);
 
+CREATE INDEX InEdge ON Edge(object_id, predicate, subject_id, provenance) OPTIONS (
+  columnar_policy = 'enabled'
+);
 
+CREATE INDEX VariableMeasuredObservationAbout ON Observation(variable_measured, observation_about);
diff --git a/import-automation/workflow/ingestion-helper/spanner_client.py b/import-automation/workflow/ingestion-helper/spanner_client.py
index 2255cf1420..37589a5c0c 100644
--- a/import-automation/workflow/ingestion-helper/spanner_client.py
+++ b/import-automation/workflow/ingestion-helper/spanner_client.py
@@ -43,7 +43,10 @@ def __init__(self,
         """Initializes a Spanner client and connects to a specific database."""
         spanner_client = spanner.Client(
             project=project_id,
-            client_options={'quota_project_id': project_id},
+            client_options={
+                'quota_project_id': project_id,
+                'api_endpoint': 'spanner.googleapis.com'
+            },
             disable_builtin_metrics=True)
         instance = spanner_client.instance(instance_id)
         database = instance.database(database_id)
@@ -434,7 +437,7 @@ def initialize_database(self, enable_embeddings=False):
         query = """
             SELECT 'table' as type, table_name as name FROM information_schema.tables WHERE table_schema = ''
             UNION ALL
-            SELECT 'index' as type, index_name as name FROM information_schema.indexes WHERE table_schema = '' AND table_name = 'NodeEmbedding'
+            SELECT 'index' as type, index_name as name FROM information_schema.indexes WHERE table_schema = '' AND table_name IN ('NodeEmbedding', 'Edge', 'Observation')
             UNION ALL
             SELECT 'model' as type, model_name as name FROM information_schema.models WHERE model_schema = ''
         """
@@ -466,7 +469,7 @@ def initialize_database(self, enable_embeddings=False):
             "Node", "Edge", "Observation", "ImportStatus", "IngestionHistory",
             "ImportVersionHistory", "IngestionLock", "Cache", "VariableMetadata"
         ]
-        required_indexes = []
+        required_indexes = ["InEdge", "VariableMeasuredObservationAbout"]
         required_models = []
 
         if enable_embeddings:
diff --git a/import-automation/workflow/ingestion-helper/spanner_client_test.py b/import-automation/workflow/ingestion-helper/spanner_client_test.py
index 1b66f29a14..1a71aa48f5 100644
--- a/import-automation/workflow/ingestion-helper/spanner_client_test.py
+++ b/import-automation/workflow/ingestion-helper/spanner_client_test.py
@@ -41,6 +41,8 @@ def test_initialize_database_all_exist(self, mock_spanner_client):
             ["table", "IngestionLock"], ["table", "Cache"],
             ["table", "VariableMetadata"],
             ["index", "NodeEmbeddingIndex"],
+            ["index", "InEdge"],
+            ["index", "VariableMeasuredObservationAbout"],
             ["model", "NodeEmbeddingModel"]
         ]