NTT opens its sixth data center in Malaysia

• NTT opens its sixth data center in Malaysia. 
• The data center, located in Cyberjaya, cost US$50 million.
• The data center has a critical IT load of 7MW.

NTT has launched a new data center in Cyberjaya. The new facility aligns with the country’s vision for digital growth, which aims to make the country an ‘Asian Digital Tiger’ by 2025.

The data center by NTT Global Data Centers Corporation, valued at US$ 50 million, is the sixth center on NTT’s campus. Called CBJ6, the data center has a critical IT load of 7MW, 4,890m² of space, and two 33kV substations with diverse power reception and advanced cooling wall technology to maintain a stable environment for high-density racks up to 15kW.

The CBJ6 complements the Cyberjaya 5 (CBJ5) Data Center built in 2021. The combined facility boasts 20,000m² of space with a facility load of 22MW. Apart from NTT, Cyberjaya is also home to several other data centers, including some from Bridge Data Centers, AIMS Data Centers, EdgeConneX and Vantage Data Centers.

In April this year, Knight Frank’s Data Centre Research Report MALAYSIA highlights that the Southeast Asia 5 (SEA-5) countries – Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, and Vietnam – have garnered significant interest due to their large populations and untapped potential. The Knight Frank SEA-5 Data Centre Opportunity Index (SEA-5 Index) analyzes key markets within the SEA-5, providing insights into each country’s data center rankings compared to its peers.

The growth of the Malaysian data center industry

In 2022, Malaysia emerged as the leader with an impressive 113 MW of take-up, which is four times greater than the next highest market, Thailand, (which itself had a commendable 25 MW of take-up). This growth can be primarily attributed to the expansion in Johor, while Kuala Lumpur has also consistently reported double-digit take-up figures for the past three years.

Datuk Wira Arham Abdul Rahman, CEO of the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), believes NTT’s ongoing expansion in Malaysia signifies the company’s trust in Malaysia as a regional data center hub.

“Aligned with the New Industrial Master Plan 2030 (NIMP 2030), MIDA will continue to attract strategic high-tech projects that will position Malaysia as a digitally connected nation, characterized by extensive and reliable digital infrastructure. Asia’s rapid growth, amid economic uncertainty in developed economies, has led multinational companies to increase digital investments to support their expanding businesses in the region,” said Datuk Wira.

Malaysia has garnered a strong reputation in the global data center sector, particularly in the Southeast Asia region. Apart from Cyberjaya, Kuala Lumpur and the state of Johor in the south of Malaysia are also popular locations for data centers in the country. Johor in particular is capable of supporting the load needed for data centers that cater to Singapore.

NTT in Malaysia

For NTT, Malaysia remains a key market, particularly in terms of catering to the demands of businesses in the country. NTT data centers have been in Malaysia for almost two decades and continue to grow to support the needs of the country.

Takeshi Kimura, Managing Director of NTT Global Data Centers Holding Asia, said that after enduring the pandemic for several years, global companies are swiftly working to make up for lost time.

“In Southeast Asia, many hyperscalers are keenly interested in establishing a robust IT platform. They recognize that by selecting NTT as their partner—a company with longstanding responsibility for managing networks, submarine cables, and data centers in Asia—they can address many challenges and drive their business effectively,” said Kimura.

Ho Yee Chung, managing director of NTT Global Data Centers Malaysia said the NTT Cyberjaya campus had evolved in sync with Malaysia’s digital growth.

“NTT’s expansion in Cyberjaya demonstrates our consistent capacity expansion in existing and new data center markets. The five Cyberjaya data centers have already empowered hyperscale enterprises, and with this new site, we reaffirm our commitment to delivering reliable infrastructure that can support the demands of our client’s digital transformation ambitions in Southeast Asia. With their demand involving the acceleration of generative AI, our data center capacity (including planned) will soon reach 2,000 MW worldwide,” added Doug Adams, CEO and president of NTT Global Data Centers & Submarine Cable.

Meanwhile, the soon-to-begin submarine cable MIST, constructed by NTT as one of the shareholders, is poised to revolutionize connectivity at the NTT Cyberjaya data center, elevating Malaysia’s global network connectivity and contributing to sustainable socio-economic growth. Spanning 8,100 km, it will seamlessly connect Malaysia, India, Singapore, and Thailand, boasting a 12-fiber pair capacity capable of transmitting over 200 tbps of data.

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