Data Centres Pose Threat of Water Crisis, AHY Warns

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia — Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono (AHY) has urged the data centre industry to carefully assess its water requirements and environmental impact before building facilities. Data centres need large water supplies at a time when demand is increasing among the public and other industries.

AHY stressed that data centre construction must be based on detailed calculations, particularly regarding its effects on the surrounding environment and residents’ access to clean water.

“What we emphasised at the coordination meeting was that data centres must not be established without detailed calculations and proper consideration of the environmental impacts that may arise,” AHY said after the National Water Self-Sufficiency Coordination Meeting at his office in Jakarta on Thursday (15 October 2026).

According to AHY, the substantial water and energy requirements of data centres are not merely a domestic issue; they are a global concern.

“This applies to all types of industry, including the digital industry. The current global trend—and the problem is not limited to Indonesia but also affects developed countries—is to focus on this issue,” he added.

AHY said the government must ensure that meeting industry’s water needs does not lead to competition that disadvantages local communities. Water supplies must be managed carefully and allocated proportionately among households, agriculture and industry.

He also highlighted the rise in water consumption as the population grows and the digital economy expands. Supplies need to be shared fairly to ensure that the needs of the public and productive sectors are met.

“We must not allow the digital transformation we continue to promote—including the digital economy and digital finance, which will become mainstream in Indonesia’s economy over the next 10 to 20 years—to face a new obstacle in the form of a water crisis. Water must be allocated proportionately among human needs, agriculture, livestock and industry,” AHY said.

AHY acknowledged, however, that water consumption varies from one data centre to another, depending on the facility’s capacity.

The government is therefore stressing the importance of environmentally based planning from the outset, so that the digital industry can accelerate without compromising the public’s basic needs.