Indonesian governor halts data centre build in West Java

Dedi Mulyadi told representatives of Singapore-owned data centre developer BDx that work had to stop until it obtained the correct permits and the project’s environmental assessment was completed.

“The project is being halted not because it violates environmental rules. It is being halted because the permits have not yet been issues,” he said in a YouTube video posted earlier this week.

The news comes as construction of data centres becomes more unpopular across the world, with some governments or local authorities placing a moratorium on the construction of more facilities amid fears around constraints on water supplies and the effect on local communities.

Indonesia’s data centre market is set to more than double in value to $6.1 billion by 2031, as compared to 2025, according to a Research and Markets report issued in January this year.

Nearby Malaysia’s data centre market could reach US$10.5 billion in value by 2030, according to some estimates.

Separately, spending on US data centres and AI infrastructure could reach $10.3 trillion between 2025 and 2032, according to research from the Brookings Institution.