# South-east Asia reins in datacentre growth amid power and water constraints

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/the-datacentre-arms-race-hits-pause-in-south-east-asia/
- Published: 2026-11-07T10:00:07+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-07T10:47:20+00:00
- Original publisher: The Guardian (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/nov/07/datacentres-southeast-asia
- Topics: Asia, Business, Technology, Trending, Weird & Viral, World

## Key points

- Power and water limits are slowing the regional datacentre boom.
- Johor capacity rose to 1,110MW in 2026.
- Thailand paused 49 projects and 117 approval decisions.

## Summary

South-east Asia’s rapid datacentre expansion is slowing as governments confront limits on power and water, alongside concerns about regulation and environmental oversight. The pause matters because the region has become a major destination for companies seeking capacity for growing artificial intelligence demand, with about half of Asia-Pacific’s datacentre capacity under construction located there.

Malaysia’s Johor state has grown from 94MW of operational capacity in 2023 to 1,110MW in 2026, with a further 3,088MW planned or being built; its datacentres already use an estimated 24% of state electricity. Thailand paused construction on 49 projects and decisions on 117 applications in September, while West Java halted a project over permit and environmental-assessment issues. Singapore’s earlier restrictions helped shift investment to neighbouring markets, but the scale of new development is now raising questions about grid capacity and resource use.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.