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Google will invest US$160 million (approximately RM651 million) in shared water infrastructure in Malaysia’s Negeri Sembilan state, funding a reservoir and treatment plant intended to support local water supplies as well as the company’s upcoming data centre in Port Dickson.
The project will be developed in partnership with the Negeri Sembilan state government and water utility Syarikat Air Negeri Sembilan Sdn Bhd (SAINS). Google has appointed Malaysian engineering and infrastructure company Gamuda Berhad to construct the facilities.
Once operational, the water treatment plant will have the capacity to supply 65 million litres of potable water daily. The infrastructure will serve Google’s planned data centre campus at Springhill Industrial Park while adding to the state’s supply for domestic and commercial use.
Ownership of the completed facilities will be transferred to Menteri Besar Negeri Sembilan (Incorporated), or MBINS, a statutory body responsible for managing state assets.
The announcement comes as technology companies face growing scrutiny over the water and electricity required to operate large data centres, particularly as demand for cloud computing and artificial intelligence infrastructure increases.
Reservoir Designed To Store Excess River Water
The project includes an off-river storage reservoir along the Linggi River. It will capture excess river flow and rainfall during periods of high water availability, storing the raw water for treatment and later use.
The stored water will be channelled to the treatment plant, where it will be purified before being supplied for domestic and commercial purposes. During periods of lower rainfall or river flow, the facility will be able to draw on the stored reserves to maintain supplies.
The reservoir is also designed to help mitigate flood risks in surrounding areas by capturing excess water during periods of high yield. Google says the arrangement is intended to maintain a reliable supply without disrupting the river’s natural flow.
The treatment plant’s capacity had been outlined before Google’s latest announcement. In January 2025, Gamuda and MBINS signed a memorandum of understanding for a 65-million-litre-per-day plant linked to the Port Dickson data centre infrastructure hub.
Gamuda’s earlier announcement said 25% of the plant’s capacity would be reserved for domestic users, with the remaining 75% allocated to data-centre operations. Google’s November announcement describes the facilities as shared infrastructure but does not confirm whether that earlier allocation remains unchanged.
Google Takes On Data Centre Power Costs
The water investment forms part of Google’s broader infrastructure development in Negeri Sembilan. The company has also committed to paying the full cost of electricity consumed by its planned data centre campus, along with the direct infrastructure costs required to connect the facility to the power grid.
The commitment will cover the construction period and the campus’s multi-decade operational lifecycle. Google says the facility is being designed to be among the most energy-efficient data centres in the world.
The company’s investment comes as Malaysia attracts major technology infrastructure projects from global cloud and AI providers. Data centres require substantial electricity to operate servers and cooling equipment, while water is used in certain cooling systems and other facility operations.
The scale of these requirements has made access to reliable utilities an important consideration for governments approving large digital infrastructure developments. Building additional water storage and treatment capacity alongside a data centre can help address some of the pressure created by new industrial demand, although the actual benefit to residents will depend on how the available supply is allocated and managed.
Google’s Asia-Pacific infrastructure and energy director, Drew Byrnes, said the funding reflected the company’s global ambition to replenish 120% of the freshwater volume it consumes. He also said Google’s water risk assessment found that local sources were not at high risk of scarcity or depletion.
Investment Also Includes Clean Energy Training
Google has announced additional initiatives with the SOLS Foundation to prepare young Malaysians for jobs in the clean energy sector. The programmes will include solar and energy laboratories in participating public schools and a 36-hour digital skills course for renewable energy workers.
The school laboratories will combine solar panels and battery storage with lessons designed to introduce students to renewable energy. The vocational programme will cover digital skills relevant to solar installation, electric vehicle charging infrastructure and energy system operations.
The initiatives are scheduled to begin in Negeri Sembilan in early 2027. They are intended to create training pathways for young people, including those from lower-income and Indigenous communities.
The wider package links Google’s data-centre expansion with investment in water infrastructure, electricity connections and workforce development. However, the long-term impact on local communities will depend on the delivery of the projects, the reliability of the additional water supply and the extent to which residents receive the benefits promised.
What this means for you:
Large data centres can create new investment and jobs, but they also increase demand for essential resources. For communities near such facilities, the key issue is whether additional infrastructure delivers a dependable public water supply alongside the needs of technology companies.
