The governor of Indonesia's most populous province has ordered Singapore's BDx Data Centers to halt construction on a major artificial-intelligence data centre over a lack of required permits, a move that highlights growing friction between the global data-centre boom and local regulation.
West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi told BDx representatives in a meeting posted to Instagram on Wednesday that construction on the 640-megawatt AI data-centre campus at Jatiluhur must stop until the required permits are obtained and the project's environmental impact assessment is completed. BDx, which operates data centres for cloud companies and large businesses across Asia, had broken ground on the campus on September 22.
Permits, not environmental violations
In a separate video posted on YouTube on Tuesday, the governor said the project was being halted "not because it violates environmental rules" but because "the permits have not yet been issued." BDx did not respond to a request for comment, and it was not immediately clear whether construction had stopped.
Mulyadi said he supported investment in West Java provided projects were environmentally friendly, while noting concerns that some data centres have been associated with water shortages.
A global backlash
The halt lands amid a worldwide push to restrict or slow new data-centre construction over electricity costs, strained water supplies, land scarcity and pressure on local communities. UN researchers said in June that data centres are expected to consume twice as much power and water by 2030 as they expand to meet surging AI demand. Opposition to data centres has also emerged elsewhere in Southeast Asia, including in Malaysia, the region's fastest-growing data-centre market.
Indonesia's data-centre market was valued at $2.81 billion in 2025 and is forecast to reach $6.08 billion in 2031, according to business intelligence firm Research and Markets, as Southeast Asia's largest economy pushes to catch up with regional peers in technology infrastructure.
Sources: Indonesian governor orders halt on data-centre project by Singapore's BDx due to lack of permits
West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi told BDx representatives in a meeting posted to Instagram on Wednesday that construction on the 640-megawatt AI data-centre campus at Jatiluhur must stop until the required permits are obtained and the project's environmental impact assessment is completed. BDx, which operates data centres for cloud companies and large businesses across Asia, had broken ground on the campus on September 22.
Permits, not environmental violations
In a separate video posted on YouTube on Tuesday, the governor said the project was being halted "not because it violates environmental rules" but because "the permits have not yet been issued." BDx did not respond to a request for comment, and it was not immediately clear whether construction had stopped.
Mulyadi said he supported investment in West Java provided projects were environmentally friendly, while noting concerns that some data centres have been associated with water shortages.
A global backlash
The halt lands amid a worldwide push to restrict or slow new data-centre construction over electricity costs, strained water supplies, land scarcity and pressure on local communities. UN researchers said in June that data centres are expected to consume twice as much power and water by 2030 as they expand to meet surging AI demand. Opposition to data centres has also emerged elsewhere in Southeast Asia, including in Malaysia, the region's fastest-growing data-centre market.
Indonesia's data-centre market was valued at $2.81 billion in 2025 and is forecast to reach $6.08 billion in 2031, according to business intelligence firm Research and Markets, as Southeast Asia's largest economy pushes to catch up with regional peers in technology infrastructure.
Sources: Indonesian governor orders halt on data-centre project by Singapore's BDx due to lack of permits
