JOHOR BAHRU: ZData Technologies says various mitigation measures have been implemented from the early stages of its hyperscale data centre project in Gelang Patah, amid concerns raised by nearby residents.
Yeo Yong Hwang, director of Computility Technology Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of China-based ZData, said hydroseeding, which sprays a mix of grass seed, water, fertiliser, and mulch onto exposed soil, has been carried out along access roads.
“Hydroseeding is carried out along our roads once every hour, but the overall area is large, so we only focus on our area. And we report this every day,” he told a press conference here.
The data centre is located less than a kilometre from nearby homes and was developed on land purchased from Tropicana Firstwide, a unit of Tropicana.
Last month, more than 50 residents staged a protest against the data centre over dust, air quality, and potential strain on water supply.
Yeo said ZData owns 15.4ha of the 40.5ha designated for the data centre project, adding that dust in the area may not originate solely from its site.
He also said the data centre is designed to Tier 3+ standards and relies entirely on reclaimed water.
“We will not use municipal water, so there will be no competition with the residents’ water supply,” he said.
Johor stopped approving Tier 1 and 2 data centres last year because of their high water consumption of up to 50 million litres a day. By comparison, Tier 3 and 4 facilities typically use around 200,000 litres a day.
Kota Iskandar assemblyman Pandak Ahmad, who was also at the press conference, said the local council is monitoring the project after residents raised concerns during several town hall engagements.
“After the town hall with residents, we requested daily reports from the master developer on steps taken to reduce dust so that we can monitor the situation and take action, if necessary,” he said.
Pandak said ZData must comply with environmental conditions, including maintaining a 150m buffer from the homes.
“If the conditions are violated, we can stop work. Previously, the developer had to halt work for two weeks for breaching the requirements before complying again with the conditions set by the local authority,” he said, referring to a stop-work order issued late last year.
