The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) in the Philippines is seeking increased funding for the development of data centers in the country.
As reported by w.media, the department is citing the importance of data centers in supporting the country's digital transformation.
Despite efforts by the government to establish data centers in the country, not a single facility has yet been completed.
The DICT has stated that limited funding for development has hindered progress.
“Additional funding would be necessary for us to meet this growing demand,” DICT secretary Ivan Uy said, noting that DICT's data center budget was set at P425 million ($7.5 million).
Undersecretary David L. Almirol, Jr. added: “The ideal is P15 billion ($264.6m). In fact we just submitted a proposal of P2.3 billion ($40.68m) but what was approved (for data center management) is only P750 million ($13.26m)."
DICT has requested additional funding in the National Expenditure Program for 2025 - P10.43bn ($184.36m) for the National Government Portal project and the e-Government System Development program.
In September 2023, the Philippines was revealed to be planning a government data center in North Luzon.
Much of the Philippines' data center market is focused around the capital city Manila. Data center providers operating in the country include PLDT and STT GDC. The former has 10 data centers in the country and is currently developing an 11th facility that will have 50MW of IT capacity at full build-out.
