Amid data-centre boom, can South-east Asia keep the lights on and taps running?

AS South-east Asia becomes the life of the data-centre party, the big test lies in managing the “hangover” – the strain on power grids and water supplies.

Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand are spearheading the data-centre boom, but each faces infrastructure and environmental hurdles amid the skyrocketing demand.

Data centres are big resource guzzlers, consuming vast amounts of water globally, mainly for cooling. A typical 100 megawatt (MW) facility, for instance, can use around 4.2 million litres of water daily – equivalent to the needs of a city of 10,000 residents.