Data Center Investment News — 17/02/2023
NTT planning to invest $240m in Kolkata data centre park
Japanese telecommunications giant Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT) has plans to invest Rs 2,000 crore (US$237 million) in the deployment of a new data centre infrastructure in India.
The group’s Shekhar Sharma, CEO of NTT Global Data Center & Cloud Infrastructure India, said the 6,00,000 square feet Kolkata hyperscale facility fits within the company’s previously announced national US$3.5 billion budget to be invested in the coming years.
“We plan to build three data centre buildings for hyperscale data centre in Kolkata site. The IT load capacity of the data centre will be at least 25MW, but considering the operational power requirement, it will be 40MW. The campus will be spread over 7.5 acres of land,” Sharma said during the ground-breaking ceremony of the site.
The first phase of the project is set to come at a capital expenditure (CAPEX) of Rs 500 crore (US$59.2 million). This will account for 1,00,000 square feet which are expected to be brought online in 12 to 15 months.
Princeton Digital Group (PDG), a leading data center provider in Asia, today announced that it has procured Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) for three of its data centers in Jakarta, Bandung and Pekanbaru in Indonesia.
Issued by Indonesian state-owned electricity firm, PLN, the certificates are from electricity generated from the geothermal project, PLTP Kamojang.
According to Stephanus Tumbelaka, Managing Director of PDG Indonesia, the RECs reduce the carbon impact of its data centers and show PDG’s dedication to assisting its customers’ sustainability objectives. It moves them closer to their goal of all data centers being powered by renewable energy by 2030.
“The renewable energy certificates are a testament of our environmental responsibility and our commitment to building sustainable digital infrastructure in Indonesia and support Indonesia’s sustainability goals. We continue to invest in improving the energy efficiency of our data centers and are also actively engaging with utility companies to procure renewable energy.” said Tumbelaka.
Kotak Alternate Assets Completes the First Closure of its $800 Million Data Center Fund
Kotak Alternate Assets, managed by Kotak Investment Advisors Ltd, has announced it has marked the first closure of its Kotak Data Centre Fund at $590 million, raising about 74% of the targeted corpus of $800 million. In an effort to promote the data-backed digital economy, enterprise cloud, 5G, and IoT, the Kotak Data Centre Fund will invest in expanding data center capacity.
According to Rahul Shah, executive director at Kotak Investment Advisors Ltd, as a high capex industry that needs capacity expansion, they think there is a chance for equity investment to support partners in building capacities. They will give their partners strategic risk capital and value-added assistance.
For Srini Sriniwasan, managing director of Kotak Investment Advisors Limited, a data revolution is about to begin in India. Data Centers are hence the foundation of the country’s goal of becoming a Digital India.
The data center-focused fund is launched against the backdrop of a developing sector that serves as the backbone of India’s effort to build a digital economy; according to official projections, this industry will likely reach $1 trillion in value by 2025.
Compass files updated application for 11.55 million sq ft PW Digital Gateway data center campus
Compass Data Centers has refiled its plans for a massive data center campus in Virginia’s Prince William County. The company is one of two alongside QTS looking to develop more than 20 million sq ft of data centers as part of the PW Digital Gateway project.
Compass originally filed a rezoning application in June 2022, but this month has refiled with an updated application providing more detail. The company aims to develop up to 11.55 million sq ft of data center space on the land.
The updated application expands the rezoning request from 834 acres to 884 acres of A-1, Agricultural and SR-5, semi-rural residential to allow for data center development, and ups the expected data center square footage by around one million sq ft.
DCD understands the updates are mostly related to the requirements put forward in the latest Comprehensive Plan Amendment the county passed in November 2022. The application includes a number of proffers Compass is offering to benefit the area in return for the rezoning authorization.
Edgnex rebrands to Damac Data Centres, plans more developments
Edgnex, a new data center firm set up by Dubai property firm Damac, has rebranded to Damac Data Centres and announced plans for a 35MW of data center capacity.
“In line with our customers and values, Edgnex has now been rebranded as Damac Data Centres,” the company said this week. “We have made a strategic decision to align with the Damac Group. We’re proud to be part of the Damac Group and its construction heritage.”
The company broke ground on a 20MW data center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia last year. The 17,720 sqm (184,000 sq ft) site is set to go live in Q3 2023.
During the LEAP conference where the name change was announced, the company also said it plans to invest $600 million on expanding its data centers in Riyadh and Dammam.
QTS refiles updated PW Digital Gateway application, plans 11.3 million sq ft of data centers
QTS has refiled its plans for a massive data center campus in Virginia’s Prince William County. The company is one of two alongside Compass looking to develop more than 20 million sq ft of data centers as part of the PW Digital Gateway project.
Blackstone-owned QTS originally filed a rezoning application in July 2022, but this month refiled with an updated application providing more detail. Compass also refiled its application this month.
The first application – Digital Gateway South – has been updated to request 342 acres be rezoned from A-1 Agricultural to PBD (Planned Business Development). The previous application requested 341 acres. The second application – Digital Gateway North – seeks to rezone 534 acres, up from 470 acres in the original filing. In total, the company is aiming to develop around 11.3 million gross square feet (1.05 million sqm) of data center space.
Like Compass, the company has updated the application in the wake of the Comprehensive Plan Amendment the county passed in November 2022 and includes a number of proffers to benefit the area in return for the rezoning authorization.
India’s newest edge data centre platform to invest in 70+ markets rollout
Privately-held Indian platform for edge data centres MetaEdge has launched with a rollout pipeline of more than 70 sites across the country.
According to its website, the company, backed by Indian entrepreneur Narendra Sen who has previously founded hyperscale operator RackBank, has a mission to interconnect cloud content and consumers for over half a billion internet users in India.
With India’s population set to surpass China’s this year, there are currently 840 million internet users in India, with only 10% of them living in metro cities that have an existing data centre ecosystem.
MetaEdge said it aims to build data centres for the remaining 90% of the population that is underserved.
LATAM edge equity grows with new facility by Brazil’s V.tal
Brazil’s edge digital infrastructure operator V.tal has opened a new facility in Fortaleza as LATAM’s demand for extra storage and cloud computing capabilities continues to drive cross-region equity investments.
The facility is the group’s second in Fortaleza and has begun operation with a 4 MW capacity and will have four “data halls” with space to accommodate 400 racks.
The unit will also be integrated with the other company’s edge data centre in city. Combined, the units have a 7,000 m² built-up area, capacity above 5MW and over 600 rack positions.
The new edge data centre has been designed to be fully integrated with its undersea cable landing station (CLS – Cable Landing Station).
I Squared Capital launches $500m edge data centre platform led by ex-Equinix execs
I Squared Capital has launched a new digital infrastructure vehicle to develop edge data centres.
The platform, named nLighten, has been created through the investor’s ISQ Global Infrastructure Fund III and includes more than US$500 million of committed equity. The new brand plans to deploy and develop colocation services to underserved cities and regions across Europe.
nLighten’s initial focus will be in Germany, where it expects to open ten locations in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hannover, Cologne, Leipzig, Munich, Nuremberg, and Stuttgart in the second half of 2023.
Through the combination of a distributed nationwide footprint and connectivity partnerships, nLighten intends to offer a latency of 2 to 6 milliseconds to most 5G and last-mile users.
Igneo Infrastructure Partners acquires data center operator US Signal
Investment firm Igneo Infrastructure Partners has completed its acquisition of data center and network services provider US Signal.
First announced in September 2022, the investment marks Igneo’s first in the US telecoms and digital infrastructure sector. Neither company has detailed any expected changes to the company in light of the acquisition.
US Signal is based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and has eight data centers across the mid-west. From these facilities, the company offers cloud, colocation, and connectivity services among others. The acquisition will also see Igneo gaining US Signal’s 9,500-mile fiber network.
Paul Van Hyfte, president of US Signal, said: “We are thrilled to partner with Igneo to support our strategic goals, including investment in and expansion of our data centers and fiber network, as we continue to provide unparalleled service to our customers.”
Kio Networks breaks ground on new data center in Paterna, Spain
Kio Networks has broken ground on a new data center in the Valencian city of Paterna in Spain.
The Valencian Generalitat this week announced the Mexican data center firm has begun work on a new facility in the Paterna Tactical Park. The company is reportedly investing €50 million ($53.5m) in the project.
Originally announced in September 2022, the facility will offer 1,000 sqm (10,760 sq ft) of data hall space and be built to Tier IV quality. It will utilize geothermal energy, most likely through certificates.
Javier Jarilla, general director of Kio Spain, said: “Decentralization is an added value and differentiator so we have opted for Paterna as the headquarters for our new data center.”
Svein Atle Hagaseth appointed CEO of Green Mountain
Norwegian data center company Green Mountain has named Svein Atle Hagaseth as CEO, replacing Tor Kristian Gyland, who stepped down due to personal reasons.
Gyland will remain with the company as a consultant. Hagaseth has spent nearly seven years at Green Mountain, including the past five as chief sales officer.
“I look forward to continuing my journey in Green Mountain and I am extremely honored and excited to lead such an amazing organization. Through our people and operational excellence, we are ready to capitalize on our platform for growth, both in Norway and across Europe,” Hagaseth said.
Green Mountain was acquired by Israeli real estate firm Azrieli Group for $850 million in 2021, and has plans to expand beyond Norway. Last year, it bought a facility in Romford, London.
STT GDC India signs $1bn MoU with Uttar Pradesh government
STT GDC India has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Uttar Pradesh for the development of data centers in the state.
Estimates of the proposal suggest that the investment could reach Rs. 4100 crore ($1bn) worth of data centers across Noida.
Under the MoU, developments will take place over the next five to 10 years, and are anticipated to employ over 2,000 people.
“We are extremely proud and happy that the Company has entered into this MoU with [the] UP government,” Sumit Mukhija, CEO of STT GDC India, said.
COPT signs Fortune 500 company for two build-to-suit data centers in Virginia
Corporate Office Properties Trust (COPT) has signed a new tenant for two upcoming build-to-suit data centers in Northern Virginia.
The company announced this week that it executed two long-term leases in January with an unnamed ‘Fortune 500’ company for two build-to-suit developments in Northern Virginia.
Precise locations of the facilities, along with planned power capacity, were not shared.
The first project is 225,000 square feet (20,900 sqm) and is scheduled for shell completion in the second quarter of 2025. The second project is 193,000 sq ft (17,930 sqm) and is scheduled for shell completion in the fourth quarter of 2025.