Data Center Investment News — 09/09/2022
AirTrunk closes Japan green loan as part of $1.55bn SLL
Privately held Asia-Pacific & Japan (APJ) hyperscale data centre operator AirTrunk has closed its first green loan in Japan as part of its new Green Financing Framework.
The green loan will finance AirTrunk’s recently announced 110+MW West Tokyo data centre, AirTrunk TOK2, and will be the first green loan for a data centre in Japan.
Macquarie-backed AirTrunk’s Chief Financial Officer, Prashant Murthy said: “We continue to drive sustainable innovation throughout the design, build, operations and financing of our data centres. The green loan closed today has set several industry benchmarks including being the first for a data centre in Japan, and first to use eligibility criteria based on operating PUE and water productivity.”
The Framework complements AirTrunk’s Sustainability Linked Loan (SLL), which was announced in late 2021.
BlackRock backs $1bn digital infrastructure fund from DTCP
Digital Transformation Capital Partners (DTCP) has held the second closing of its Digital Infrastructure Vehicle II (DIV II) at about €1 billion (~US$993 million).
The fund was launched in June 2021 and has raised additional capital from new international investors, including BlackRock (NYSE: BLK) and abrdn plc (LON: ABDN), as well as an unnamed sovereign wealth fund from the Middle East and various German insurance companies.
The group said the fund will continue to raise “significant capital” until its final closing in 2023. DIV II invests in digital infrastructure – fibre networks, mobile towers and data centres – to accelerate digital transformation and create value for its investors, its portfolio companies, and society.
The fund focuses on opportunities with defensible market positions and long-term value creation potential through either minority or majority European equity investments.
Ken Jackson named director of facility development at NTT
Ken Jackson has been appointed the director of facility development at NTT, based out of Nashville, US.
Jackson was previously the data center operations leader at TierPoint. Prior to spending over three years at TierPoint, Jackson was a critical environment project manager at the Bank Of New York Mellon Financial Corporation.
He also spent six years at Hewlett-Packard, and time at AMD, CBRE, Johnston Technologies, and the US Navy. Jackson is the Tennessee chapter president of AFCOM.
“I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as Director of Facility Development at NTT Global Data Centers!” Jackson said on LinkedIn, before clarifying that he is working at NTT Ltd, not NTT GDC.
Digital Edge breaks ground on 23MW data center in Jakarta
Digital Edge has broken ground on a new data center in Jakarta, Indonesia. The company this week announced it has commenced construction on a 23MW data center, to be known as EDGE2.
Located less than 3km away from the company’s existing EDGE1 facility, the new facility will offer 3,430 cabinets and is due to be completed in Q4 2023.
EDGE2 will be operated by PT. Ekagrata Data Gemilang (Edge DC), a subsidiary of PT Indointernet Tbk (Indonet), in which Digital Edge previously took a controlling interest.
Samuel Lee, chief executive officer at Digital Edge, said: “The growth opportunities in South East Asia are vast and our presence in Indonesia plays an important role in our mission to bridge the digital divide in these high-growth markets. Our cutting-edge and environmentally conscious data center design, construction, and operations expertise combined with Indonet’s network services and access to dark fiber make a winning offer to local and international customers looking for support to grow their digital presence in Indonesia.”
Goodman launches Tsuen Wan West data center campus in Hong Kong
Industrial and logistics real estate firm Goodman has opened its Goodman Tsuen Wan West precinct in Hong Kong. The new data center development comprises four buildings totaling 1.6 million sq ft (148,640 sqm) of space and will reportedly offer up to 400MW, according to Mingtiandi.
Goodman acquired the disused Central Textiles factory site in 2014 for a reported HK$1 billion (then $129 million). The first two buildings are now completed and fully leased by two of Goodman’s ‘major global customers.’
The remaining two buildings are currently under construction and will complete in 2024. Overall, the precinct is 87 percent committed to major global data center and technology customers.
Kristoffer Harvey, CEO Greater China, Goodman Group said: “Goodman Tsuen Wan West is the latest showcase of our commitment to urban regeneration, while meeting the surging demand both locally and regionally for high-tier data centers, technology infrastructure and emissions reduction objectives.
NTT To Construct 6th Data Center in Malaysia
NTT, a leading IT infrastructure and services company, has announced plans to construct its sixth data center in Cyberjaya as the Malaysian data center market continues to enjoy strong expansion. With an investment cost of approximately US$50 million, the new data center will be known as Cyberjaya 6 (CBJ6).
CBJ6 will complement CBJ5, which opened in 2021 and covers just under 20 000m2 with a total facility load of 22MW when combined. As Malaysia ushers in the new digital era, the data center, which caters to hyperscalers and high-end corporations, will aid in accelerating digital transformation across industries.
The optical submarine cable MIST, which is now being built between Malaysia, Singapore, and India, will allow connectivity between CBJ5 and CBJ6 to significantly improve Malaysia’s network connectivity internationally and have long-lasting socioeconomic impact. NTT will keep increasing the capacity of its cable.
According to Datuk Wira Arham Abdul Rahman, Chief Executive Officer of the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), NTT’s confidence in Malaysia’s capacity as a regional data center hub is clearly demonstrated by the establishment of CBJ6 as part of its growth plan.
Megawide Enters the Data Center Industry
Megawide Construction Corporation, one of the leading engineering and infrastructure firms in the Philippines, will enter the $280 million data center industry as it competes with telcos for the expanding global market.
According to Property expert Colliers Philippines, as investments in the sector reached $298 million, in 2021, the Philippines is one of the leading rising data center industries in Southeast Asia; With 10 data centers in its portfolio, telco giant PLDT currently dominates the market.
In line with this, in order to increase their financial resources for future projects, Megawide management would give up their ownership part in the company that developed and operates Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) and will move into its data center project that will start this year.
The Aboitiz Group will acquire full ownership of the MCIA operator by the end of 2024 according to a P25 billion deal signed last week by Megawide and its Indian partner GMR Airports International BV.
Real estate player GFLC and operator 1547 to develop 290MW data centre campus
Data centre operator fifteenfortyseven Critical Systems Realty (1547) has partnered with real estate development firm, Green Fig Land Company (GFLC), to acquire a parcel of over 100+ acres of land to develop, build and invest in a data centre project designed with initial capacity for up to 2 million square feet of space and 150 MW of available utility power and with additional 140 MW to be available during build out.
Located in Chester County, Pennsylvania, the 100+ acre land parcel is zoned for data centres and microwave towers.
GFLC has obtained a zoning approval through East Whiteland Townships Board of Supervisors to construct two data centres of approximately 1,000,000 square feet for a total of 2,000,000 square feet on the centre lots.
Adjacent property is available for development of up to 5,000,000 square feet of data centre buildings, the company said.
Edge Centres begins work on Hong Kong facility
Australian Edge data center firm Edge Centres has begun work on a facility in Hong Kong.
“Fitout has begun at EC91 in Fanling, Hong Kong,” the company said on LinkedIn this week. “Due to be fully operational on October 31st, we have commenced the installation of racks and network equipment.”
The Australian firm provides modular ‘off grid’ data centers powered by on-site wind and/or solar power and connected to the main grid as backup. Each facility is equipped with just under 1MW of solar infrastructure, and 48-hour battery, and UPS backup equipment, which supports 64 1kW quarter racks. The company says the sites can produce more electricity than they use.
While traditionally focused on Australia, the company recently announced plans to expand into Asia. As well as Hong Kong, it also developing facilities in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; and has projects planned and/or in development in three locations in Thailand. EC61 Chiang Mai will be the first site to be deployed, followed by EC62 Phuket, and EC63 Khon Kaen.
DC Two deploys modular data center at biogas facility in Victoria, Australia
Australian data center firm DC Two has deployed a modular data center at biogas facility outside Melbourne, Australia.
The company announced this week that its Victoria modular data center – located “behind the meter” at an LMS Energy biogas facility – is now fully operational and generating revenue.
The site has an initial capacity of 800kW via a single DC Two-owned module; the company has sold approximately 763kW of power, with all customer equipment in the process of being installed and commissioned over the coming weeks. The company announced in June that it has signed a hosting deal with cryptomining firm Ausmt Energy estimated to generate revenue of AU$1 million (US$678,000) over a 12-month period.
The total site capacity is expected to increase to 1.2MW as DC Two seeks an agreement to access and sell space in LMS Energy’s module that the energy firm bought from the data center company last year.