Bataan pushes the conversion of BNPP into a data center

by Almira Louise S. Martinez, Reporter

Converting the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) into a data center could benefit the nation, the province’s governor said on Tuesday. 

“I think this will be one of the biggest in the country; the government can definitely benefit. At least we have an in-country data center,” Bataan Governor Jose Enriquez “Joet” S. Garcia III said in an interview.  

Transforming the power station could drive many opportunities, not only for the province but also for the whole country, he added.  

“It’s a work-and-play development that I believe can attract investors and locators, bringing in revenue and jobs.” 

Further, the local government plans to establish an IT-BPM hub within the proposed center to serve private sectors and companies.  

“We are proposing that it become an IT-BPM hub so locators will be there, and various BPM will be there,” Mr, Garcia said. 

Mr. Garcia told BusinessWorld he sees data as ‘gold’ that needs a secure and safe place to store, which BNPP could offer given the nature of its structure. 

 “There’s really good potential to convert the BNPP into a cloud computing center—in fact, a waterproof data computing center.” 

 “As we all know, nuclear plants are also waterproof, so we can utilize that same technology to help make the data center more efficient,” he added. 

Mr. Garcia appeals to the national government to support the ‘practical’ utilization of the facility instead of operating it as a nuclear power plant.  

“So many changes are happening in the province; we have so many critical industries here; we don’t think a nuclear plant in Bataan would be the most practical.”  

Last September 2, the 2nd District of Bataan Congressman Albert S. Garcia had a discussion with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) about the structural plans and design of the BNPP conversion project.