Singtel’s data center unit Nxera and Telekom Malaysia (TM) have broken ground on a data center in Johor, Malaysia.
The companies this week held a groundbreaking ceremony for their data center campus in Iskandar Puteri, Johor.
The facility is scheduled to begin commercial operations in 2026. The initial phase of the data center is planned to offer 64MW and can be scaled up to 200MW.
After reports surfaced in early June that Singtel was planning to expand into the region, the company officially announced the Johor joint venture with TM a week later.
TM currently operates seven data centers across Malaysia with two core facilities located in Klang Valley and Johor. It is also part of the Asia Link Cable Systems (ALC) partnership, a 7,200km, 24 Tbps cable. The cable’s landing station will be located at the TM Exchange Kuala Sedili in Johor.
Amar Huzaimi Md Deris, TM’s group CEO, said: “Today marks a pivotal milestone in our journey to becoming a digital powerhouse as we break ground on this cutting-edge AI-ready data center. This facility exemplifies our commitment to fostering industry growth, driving innovation, and enhancing socio-economic development.”
Singtel’s data center portfolio currently comprises 62MW of existing capacity in Singapore, while the company is building a new 58MW data center in the city-state known as DC Tuas.
The company has also partnered with Telkom and Medco Power in Indonesia as well as Gulf Energy and AIS in Thailand to develop data centers in Batam and Bangkok respectively. The portfolio will deliver a total combined capacity of over 155MW once the three new projects are operational in 2025, with room to scale up to more than 200MW.
KKR acquired an $800 million, 20 percent stake in Singtel's data center business last year.
“As one of the largest investments in the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone, this state-of-the-art data center campus is an integral part of our mission to empower digital economies and communities in the region while ensuring energy and water resources are deployed responsibly and efficiently,” said Bill Chang, CEO of Nxera and Singtel’s Digital InfraCo unit.
“It expands our regional data center platform’s strategic presence in this fast-growing Asia region. With Malaysia embracing AI to drive competitiveness and innovation, our campus will spur economic growth by helping companies leverage AIs and cloud computing to drive efficiencies and accelerate their business transformation.”
Malaysia's Digital Minister YB Gobind Singh Deo; YB Lee Ting Han, Chairman, Johor State Investment, Trade, Consumer Affairs and Human Resources Committee; and Singapore's Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry and Culture, Community and Youth Low Yen Ling graced the groundbreaking event as guests of honor.
Minister YB Gobind said: “This investment by TM and Nxera reinforces Malaysia's position as the digital hub in Southeast Asia, further advancing the nation's economic growth. The relationship between TM and Nxera expands to Malaysia and Singapore, with both nations being a good case study of a productive working partnership between two ASEAN member states.”
Located in Malaysia’s south, Johor is just across the border from Singapore. Though Singapore is starting to ease restrictions around its ongoing moratorium on new data center developments, Johor has grown a sizeable data center market of its own as developments overspill from the city-state. Other developers and operators in Johor include PDG, AirTrunk, Equinix, Keppel, ChinData's Bridge DC, and Yondr.
