The information and communications technology subsidiary of PLDT Inc. plans to invest at least $600 million to build its 12th and largest data center in the Philippines.
Victor Genuino, president and chief executive of ePLDT told reporters the global average investment to build a data center is between $6 million and $9 million per megawatt. “So that’s kind of a range that we are looking at for a 100-megawatt [facility],” he said.
The move is part of ePLDT’s goal to boost the country’s regional competitiveness and bring much-needed investments.
“What’s gonna happen next year is we are going to launch the first phase of our data center in the first half of 2024, for the 11th. Then, we expect the full data center fit up of 50 MW total load to be finished by the first quarter of 2025,” Genuino said at the sidelines of the media launch of the PH Digicon 2023.
“Then after that, we hope to see, depending on the take-up of the space, whether we need to start building already. I think what is important for us is we already secure the property, and we already start preparing for the designs of the data center because the technology is changing so fast,” he said.
Genuino said that by 2025, ePLDT would decide whether the company would build a normal data center, a hyperscaler data center or a generative AI (artificial intelligence) data center.
The company’s 11th and biggest data center, VITRO Sta. Rosa, received several colocation requests from a diverse range of industry leaders including hyperscalers, content delivery networks, banks, BPOs, carriers and government agencies.
Once completed by early 2024, VITRO Sta. Rosa will be the country’s largest and most advanced data center with a total power capacity of 50 MW. Designed to be Rated-3 Certified and Rated-4 Ready, it is fit to host the most critical and power-intensive IT infrastructure of hyperscalers and enterprises.
The company said with VITRO Sta. Rosa on the rise and a 12th data center facility underway, ePLDT’s power capacity would increase to around 200 MW once both sites are activated.
A 2023 first-quarter market report by S&P Global Market Intelligence showed that the Philippines was poised for a 13-percent compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) in data center operational space between 2020 and 2025 due to the recent expansion of hyperscalers and significant interests of global enterprises in the country. This put the Philippines on a competitive footing with Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.
The rosy market outlook is a welcome development for ePLDT as it is also committed to helping the country strengthen its position as a data center hub for APAC.
It offers a total rack capacity of nearly 10,000 and owns a network of 10 globally-certified VITRO data center facilities strategically located across the country.