Johor bahru: National sewerage company Indah Water Konsortium (IWK) Sdn Bhd and Johor Special Water (JSW) Sdn Bhd have formed a strategic partnership to develop reclaimed water to meet the increasing demand for water supply in the data centre industry in Johor.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, IWK chief executive officer (CEO) M. Narendran announced that IWK and JSW signed three agreements to supply alternative water sources to two data centres in the state. This partnership will see IWK supply treated effluent through an integrated distribution system to the Reclaimed Water Plant at Bridge Data Centres (BDC) and Computility Technology (Malaysia), while JSW will supply an alternative water source to Dayone Data Centres Malaysia II Sdn Bhd (Dayone).
Narendran stated that IWK would provide 12 million litres per day of treated effluent from the Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) to the Water Reclamation Plant (WRP) constructed by BDC and Computility. This announcement was made during a visit by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, who is also the Minister of Energy Transition and Water Transformation, alongside Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi, to the IWK Johor Bahru-Pelangi STP.
Both Fadillah and Onn Hafiz observed the process of treated effluent being channelled to the BDC WRP and Computility. Narendran highlighted that IWK will also supply approximately four million litres per day of treated effluent from the Johor Bahru-Pelangi STP to the BDC WRP in Ulu Tiram. JSW will manage the treated effluent discharge and coordinate with local authorities to secure necessary approvals, ensuring the treated effluent is reused as high-quality water for BDC cooling operations.
Narendran further explained that the reclaimed water supplied by IWK serves as a non-potable solution to meet the high demand from industries like data centres. IWK produces over 7,371 million litres of treated sewage daily from STPs nationwide, with 1,067 million litres of treated effluent produced in Johor.
JSW CEO Abdul Rashid Ismail emphasized that data centres require significant amounts of water, particularly for cooling, and reclaimed water presents a scalable and environmentally sensitive alternative to traditional sources. He affirmed that the treated effluent’s quality and quantity are both safe and effective for data centre operations.
Abdul Rashid noted the rising interest in recycled water supply from data centres and other industrial areas, including Nusajaya Tech Park, Sedenak Tech Park, Nusa Cemerlang Industrial Park, Pasir Gudang, and Kempas. This trend highlights Johor’s strong position as a rapidly developing digital hub. IWK and JSW have been collaborating since October 2021 to reuse treated effluent from the STP as reclaimed water for non-potable industrial use. The collaboration exemplifies how agency partnerships can leverage existing infrastructure for sustainable development.