Selangor greenlit a total of 39 data centre projects between 2021 and 2025, which were expected to create more than 2,400 jobs.
State investment, trade and mobility committee chairman Ng Sze Han said based on Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) and Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) data, the positions were in technical, information technology, engineering, administrative and other fields.
He said a Federal Government Data Centre Task Force examined the possible impact of each proposed investment.
“The task force evaluates all aspects before full approval is given to each application,” he said during the Selangor State Assembly at Bangunan Dewan Negeri Selangor, Shah Alam, yesterday.
The task force is co-chaired by the Investment, Trade and Industry Minister and Digital Minister.
“Proposals were also examined through pre-investment coordination meetings involving local authorities, utility providers, technical agencies, Selangor Environment Department and PLANMalaysia Selangor,” said Ng.
“Electricity and water needs, noise, air emissions, environmental compliance and infrastructure readiness were assessed before approval.
“Projects were screened using Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE), Water Usage Effectiveness (WUE) and Carbon Usage Effectiveness (CUE) measurements.”
He was replying to a supplementary question from Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali (PN-Hulu Kelang) on whether the state had engaged with the Energy Commission to prevent data centres from disrupting electricity supply to homes and other industries.
Azmin also asked what assurance could be given that data centre development would not result in water rationing for domestic and industrial users.
Ng said meetings with the Energy Commission and Air Selangor were held regularly.
“We obtain their comments and views before giving support to any application from a data centre company.”
Ng also said each water supply application would be assessed against the capacity of the existing system and projected demand for treated water.
“Developers were required to provide new infrastructure, including distribution pipes from suitable reservoirs and internal and external tanks capable of storing three days’ water supply.
“This is to ensure that water requirements of data centres can be met without affecting existing consumers,” he said.
Earlier, Mu’izzuddeen Mahyuddin (PN-Hulu Bernam) had asked about measures to ensure the state’s domestic water reserve margin would not be affected by the industry’s high demand.
He also asked about mechanisms to ensure operators used recycled water for their cooling systems.
In his reply, Ng said Air Selangor’s treated water reserve margin was currently at 16.23%, equivalent to 1,055 million litres per day (MLD), while future demand from data centres was projected at about 632 MLD.
“At present, demand from data centres in Selangor has not placed pressure on domestic water supply, particularly in densely populated areas.”
He also said developers were encouraged to adopt water-saving technologies such as air cooling and use reclaimed water to reduce reliance on treated water.
“Some newer data centres can also use raw water and treat it themselves, because their operations require industrial-grade rather than treated water.
“Air cooling does not require as much water compared with older data centres,” he added.
Muhammad Izuan Ahmad Kasim (PH-Kota Damansara), raised concerns over a proposed data centre earmarked for construction about 50m from residential homes.
In his reply, Ng said site selection should consider community concerns alongside availability of water, electricity, fibre-optic connections and skilled workers.
“The state also requires data centre investments to have 30% local content so that local companies can secure business opportunities,” he said.
The three-storey data centre development in Section 9, Kota Damansara, was proposed to span 19 lots of private land and part of a government road reserve in Jalan Rimba Riang 9/6.
However, following public outcry, Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) announced on July 28 that the planning application was withdrawn by the project consultant on behalf of the developer, to reevaluate the site’s feasibility.
