Around 300 residents protested outside the Nongsa Digital Park data center complex over clean water shortages; one resident said their taps had been dry for three months. Data center investment in Batam exceeded $6.7 billion by mid-2026, though a direct link between the facilities and residents’ water shortages has not been proven. Local authorities attributed the shortages to a prolonged drought and told data center companies to build their own desalination facilities.