Data centres boost from Singapore
Johor’s Kulai district, situated approximately 70 kilometers north of Singapore, has long been recognized for its expansive rubber plantations and oil palm estates. However, in recent times, the landscape has evolved to include extensive construction sites bustling with cranes and work crews.
These sites are slated to transform into industrial parks within the next three years, accommodating multiple data centers. These facilities house large clusters of high-speed computers, servers, and routers tasked with storing, processing, and distributing vast volumes of data.
The escalating reliance on cloud-based technology worldwide has propelled the proliferation of data centers, positioning Johor as one of Malaysia’s key hotspots for such infrastructure development.
Experts suggest that southern Johor, given its close proximity to Singapore’s financial hub and its advantageous attributes such as ample land availability and lower power costs, has the potential to emerge as a significant regional player in the data center industry.
The presence of major players in the data center industry, including Nvidia, AirTrunk, GDS International, YTL Power, and Princeton Digital Group, indicates the growing significance of Johor as a key location for such operations. Additionally, reports suggest that tech giant Microsoft has acquired land in Kulai with plans to establish a data center.
According to data from Baxtel, Johor currently boasts 13 data center facilities spread across more than 1.65 million square feet of land. This positions the state as the largest data center market in Malaysia and the ninth-largest in the Asia Pacific region. Furthermore, Baxtel notes that four additional data centers are currently under construction in Johor, underscoring the region’s burgeoning prominence in the data center industry.
Data centers in Malaysia are dispersed across various regions, including the Klang Valley, Penang, Kedah, and Sarawak. Cyberjaya, often referred to as Malaysia’s tech capital near Kuala Lumpur, currently houses 13 operational data centers. However, experts note that while Cyberjaya primarily serves the domestic market, Johor caters more to multinational corporations with regional operations.
A report by real estate agency Knight Frank indicates that the data center market in Johor is poised to outpace Greater Kuala Lumpur in terms of “live capacity,” reflecting the region’s growing prominence in the digital infrastructure landscape.
