BRIN Sets Four Conditions for Jatiluhur AI Data Centre Review
The stalled BDx AI data centre at Jatiluhur in Purwakarta, West Java, will not restart until it clears a tougher environmental review. At an AMDAL discussion meeting held at the Purwakarta regency offices on Monday, October 5, AI researcher Dini Fronitasari of the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) said several variables in the environmental impact study were still unfinished and had not been scientifically verified.
She listed four conditions that should be locked in writing before any building permit is issued. First, a water balance for dry seasons and drought years, so server cooling never competes with households or irrigation; she noted that closed-loop cooling can cut water needs by 80 to 90 percent. Second, a careful assessment of the facility’s effect on electricity reliability in Purwakarta and across West Java. Third, a clear system for handling electronic waste and batteries over the plant’s life. Fourth, concrete benefits for residents beyond construction jobs, including access to computing capacity for local research.
“We are not rejecting it, nor accepting it, but still testing it,” Dini said. Purwakarta Regent Saepul Bahri Binzein stressed that the forum reached no conclusion and that the building approval, known as PBG, is still far from being issued.
What it means in practice
Construction was halted in late September after West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi said the project lacked an AMDAL and a PBG, as AI4Indonesia reported when West Java halted the BDx Jatiluhur AI campus. The facility is designed for up to 640 MW of power, and the site’s contracted electricity allocation of about 845 MVA is a big part of its appeal.
Investors are watching nervously. Economist Didik J. Rachbini of Indef, rector of Universitas Paramadina, said on Monday that one-sided regional decisions threaten the climate for AI data centre investment, which the government has targeted at Rp360 trillion. Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto has cited a pipeline of up to 1.3 GW worth an estimated US$15 billion to US$20 billion, a buildout that includes plans such as Telkom, NeutraDC and Danantara’s 1 GW roadmap.
Both sides have a point. BRIN puts national data centre capacity at 580 MW today and projects 3.5 GW by 2030, so Indonesia clearly needs more compute. But a data centre that drains water from a reservoir region in a dry year would cost far more public trust than a delayed permit.
What to watch: whether BDx publishes binding water and power commitments, how quickly the independent feasibility team rules, and whether Jakarta issues national guidance so other provinces do not improvise their own. Jatiluhur is turning into the test case for how Indonesia balances AI ambition with water security.