Renowned social activist Dr. Wayne Kublalsingh told The Associated Press he was concerned about the energy consumption by the planned data centers.

The government is “trying to present something which looks like development, but which is not development,” he said.

Trinidad and Tobago has long grappled with chronic water shortages and intermittent supply, raising concerns that large, water-intensive data centers could place additional strain on an already overstretched system.

The majority of the twin-island country functions on water schedules set by the state’s utility company. Most homes have water tanks since the supply in their taps can be as rare as once a week. In some instances, communities have gone weeks without water being supplied by the state company.

Data centers could account for nearly 3% of the world’s projected electricity use by 2030, with 935 trillion watt-hours, according to a recent United Nations University report. The environmental footprint of data centers already rivals some of the world’s largest countries, according to the report.