Name: The Indonesian island where residents compete with AI data centres for fresh water
Uploaded: 2026-11-07T09:00:06+08:00
Duration: 2 min 33 s
Description: Authorities in Batam have approved 10 AI data centres, with 2 already up and running and a third under construction.

Brian Mikael Cheng

Read more: https://sc.mp/fq088
Angry residents of Indonesia’s Batam island staged spontaneous protests in October 2026, outside a park where a new cluster of data centres is under construction. Taps at home had run dry for the residents for months, which they blamed on severe outages that hit the municipal water service after the arrival of the data centres.


The Indonesian island where residents compete with AI data centres for fresh water

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Authorities in Batam have approved 10 AI data centres, with 2 already up and running and a third under construction.


The Indonesian island where residents compete with AI data centres for fresh water

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Authorities in Batam have approved 10 AI data centres, with 2 already up and running and a third under construction.

Authorities in Batam have approved 10 AI data centres, with 2 already up and running and a third under construction.