More than 220 residents in Akishima city, Tokyo, have opposed the construction of GLP’s large logistics and data center project.
First reported in Devdiscourse, GLP's data center subsidiary Ada had planned to begin construction of the site in February, with the campus scheduled for completion in 2029.
Local residents have cited environmental and resource concerns and are planning to file for arbitration to halt the project.
It is not clear whether the data center under scrutiny is a new one, or one of GLP’s existing pipeline plans.
The company currently has plans to build five campuses totaling 600MW; four in Tokyo (TKW1, TKW2, TKE1, and TKE2) and one in Osaka.
It is possible that it is the TKW2 campus residents are opposed to, as the TKW1 campus has already begun construction.
TKW2 was projected to offer 295MW across eight five-story buildings.
Yuji Ohtake, a representative of the residents’ group, said: “One company will be responsible for ruining Akishima. That’s what this development is.”
In December last year, residents in Nagareyama city successfully quashed a similar data center plan, citing concerns about wildlife, pollution, a spike in electricity usage, and drainage of water supply.
Founded in 2009, GLP is a global investment manager in logistics, digital infrastructure, and related technologies. The company invested in Chinese data centers in 2018, and in 2019 acquired a 60 percent stake in local data center company Cloud-Tripod.
GLP launched the Ada brand last year for its data center developments across Europe, APAC, and South America.
Ada has previously said it planned to invest $12 billion over the next five years to deliver 900MW of data center capacity in Japan.
In the UK, Ada said it is developing a 210MW campus in east London’s Docklands. The site will be ready for service in 2026 and will consist of three eight-story buildings.
The company is also planning two campuses in Brazil – Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo – totaling 100MW. Rio will offer 60MW across three single-story buildings from 2025, while São Paulo will offer 40MW across two single-story buildings from 2025.
Other tech giants such as Microsoft, AWS, and Oracle have also announced plans to build and invest in Japan.
