KULAI, Aug 25 — The Johor state government is expecting RM15 billion worth of investment in YTL Green Data Centre Park over the next 10 years, especially in view of the rising demand for data centres in the region.

Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi said the 111-hectare, 500-megawatt (MW) green data centre park is currently the largest data centre park in Malaysia, and it is also the first one to be powered by renewable energy.

He noted that many data centre providers are choosing to set up their data centre facilities outside of the more advanced markets, adding that Johor has the potential to become a prominent global data centre market.

"We have grown into a robust technology hub and a desired location for digital investments. Our status as the current regional hub for manufacturing, logistics and big data analytics is definitely a plus point,” he said.

Onn Hafiz said this in his speech before officiating the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the Sea Data Centre, marking the first phase of the YTL Green Data Centre Park.

YTL Power International Bhd, through its subsidiary, YTL Data Center Holdings Pte Ltd, is investing RM1.5 billion for the first phase of the YTL Green Data Centre Park.

Through the Sea Data Centre, Sea Ltd will become the anchor tenant for YTL Green Data Centre Park.

The Tier-III certified, 72MW facility is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2024.

Sea Ltd is a Singapore-based technology company with core businesses across digital entertainment, e-commerce as well as digital payments and financial services.

In his speech, Onn Hafiz highlighted that the global data centre market was valued at US$187.35 billion (RM837 billion) in 2020, and is projected to be worth US$517.17 billion by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate of 10.5 per cent from 2021 to 2030.

With digital economy expected to contribute 22.6 per cent to Malaysia’s gross domestic product by 2025, that is a slice of the economic pie that Johor does not intend to miss.

"Indeed, with the continuous assistance of the Malaysian Investment Development Authority, the state government will do its best to attract investments of this nature, and enable Johor to realise its potential to become a regional data centre hub,” he said.

Aside from the YTL Green Data Centre Park, Johor has two other data centre parks, namely the Nusajaya Tech Park and the Sedenak Tech Valley, he said, adding that the state government is looking forward to more data centre parks being set up in the state.

YTL Power managing director Datuk Yeoh Seok Hong said today’s event marked a new phase of their partnership with Sea Ltd.

"We are excited to provide world-class, green infrastructure to our partners using our group’s expertise in solar energy, data centres, telecommunications, construction and property development,” he said. — Bernama