• BP Batam says DayOne has agreed to spend about Rp180 billion on a seawater-desalination plant as a condition of its data-centre expansion
  • DayOne would build the plant and hand it to BP Batam to operate, but no construction or water-supply timetable has been disclosed

The fact

BP Batam says DayOne has agreed to build a seawater-desalination plant as a condition of expanding its data-centre operations in Batam.  Amsakar Achmad, BP Batam Head said the commitment is worth about Rp180 billion. DayOne would build the seawater reverse osmosis plant before handing it to BP Batam to manage, with the city government and development authority supporting the necessary permits.

The plant is intended to produce fresh water from seawater for the data centre's operational needs, including cooling. Amsakar said any output above the facility's needs could potentially be used for local water supply. The announcement does not give the plant's planned capacity, construction start, commissioning date or the amount of water that would be reserved for DayOne. It therefore establishes a development commitment rather than an operating water supply.

The assessment

DayOne is not treating water supply as a separate issue from its Batam expansion. The desalination plant is part of the project itself: DayOne would pay for and build it, then hand it over to BP Batam to operate. That handover will matter because the plant needs to be working before the expanded data centre can depend on it. So far, the agreement gives a value of about Rp180 billion, but it does not say how much water the plant will produce or when it will be ready.

For BTW readers, the next thing to watch is the construction and commissioning schedule. Once DayOne and BP Batam set out when the plant will be built, tested and handed over, it will be clearer whether the water supply can keep pace with the data-centre expansion.

What to watch

Watch for DayOne and BP Batam to disclose the plant's capacity, construction schedule, commissioning date and water allocation for the data centre. The handover to BP Batam will be another important milestone. Any supply to local communities would depend on the plant producing more water than DayOne requires.