ePLDT, the ICT subsidiary of PLDT Inc. is planning to invest at least $600 million to build its 12th data center facility in the country.
Victor S. Genuino, ePLDT president and chief executive, told reporters the global average investment to build a data center is between $6 million to $9 million “so that’s the kind of range we are looking at for a 100 megawatt.”
The plan is part of ePLDT’s goal to boost the country’s regional competitiveness and help 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 space, whether we need to start building already. I think what is important for us is we already secured the property and we already started preparing for the design of the data center because the technology is changing so fast,” he added.
By 2025, Genuino said ePLDT will decide whether the company will be building a normal data center, a hyperscaler data center or a generative AI (artificial intelligence) data center.
At present, ePLDT’s 11th and biggest data center, VITRO Sta. Rosa, is recipient of several colocation requests from a diverse range of industry leaders, including hyperscalers, CDNs, banks, BPOs, carriers, and even the national government.
Once completed in early 2024, VITRO Sta. Rosa will be the country’s largest and most advanced data center with a total power capacity of 50MW. Designed as Rated-3 certified and Rated-4 ready, it is fit to host the most critical and power-intensive IT infrastructure of hyperscalers and enterprises.
With VITRO Sta. Rosa on the rise and a 12th data center facility underway, ePLDT’s power capacity will increase to around 200MW once both sites are activated.
A 2023 Q1 market report by S&P Global Market Intelligence show the Philippines is poised for a 13 percent compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) in data center operational space between 2020-2025 due to the recent expansion of hyperscalers and significant interest of global enterprises in the country. This has put the country on 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 Asia-Pacific region.
Currently, ePLDT offers total rack capacity of nearly 10,000 and owns a network of 10 globally certified VITRO data center facilities strategically located across the country.
