Minister in the Ministry of Housing, Phillip Alexander, says Trinidad and Tobago cannot afford to ignore the global shift toward digital infrastructure.
Responding to calls for the recently proposed data centres to be stopped, including an online petition opposing their establishment in Trinidad and Tobago, the Minister argued that the technology will continue to expand globally, whether or not the facilities are built locally.
“Whether we build the data centres in Trinidad or not, they’re going to be built. Trinidadians are arguing about data centres, ironically, using the technology of data centres.”
Minister Alexander dismissed calls to suspend approvals for data centres, describing the petition as an overreaction based on misinformation.
He explained that modern facilities use closed-loop cooling systems, and said the focus should be directed toward embracing technological advancement.
“I was the first person to tell people that they were raising petitions on things like water supply, affecting the water supply. I said data centre systems like most heavy industries that create pollutants have closed-loop water systems for cooling. It doesn’t get into the water systems. That’s a wash. That’s a waste of time. The petition is based on what? It’s based on wild panicking that has nothing to do with anything. The reality is this is the age of information. We are going to have data centres being built all over the world.”
His comments follow the signing of three Memoranda of Understanding between the Government of Trinidad and Tobago and several US-based organisations, which include the development of a 300-megawatt data centre.