Building a supercluster of data centres around Singapore
How SG+ will help Singapore stay relevant.
The plan to build a supercluster of interconnected data centres across Singapore, Johor, and Batam didn't happen overnight, but was birthed since at least 2021*.
Data centres are getting much larger to accommodate new AI and hyperscale workloads. But Singapore with negligible renewables already uses 7% of the electricity it generates in data centres.
What can it do to stay relevant? Here's where SG+ comes into the picture.
From SIJORI to SG+
The Singapore-Johor-Riau (SIJORI) growth triangle was first mooted in the late 1980s with the idea of strengthening regional economic links between the three regions.
This eventually became SG+ with the idea of leveraging Singapore's business advantages with the manufacturing strength of Johor, Batam, Bintan and Karimun (BBK).
Data centre campuses made it in the plan then, with Nusajaya Tech Park in Johor and Nongsa Digital Park in Batam specifically highlighted (See image).
Data centre supercluster of APAC
I've previously listed top data centre markets in a post. It looks like this:
- Seoul: 1,254MW.
- Singapore: 1,443MW.
- Sydney: 1,602MW.
- London: 2,243MW.
- Tokyo: 2,561MW.
- Atlanta: 2,993MW.
- Virginia: 8,660MW.
While a highly significant data centre hub, Singapore lags in absolute capacity compared to the top data centre markets around the world.
The equation changes with the massive data centre capacity coming online in Johor and Batam, creating a data centre supercluster on par with the largest hubs globally.
The hub in the wheel
Despite having one of the most subsea cables in the region, Singapore continues to work hard to strengthen its lead.
It wants to double its capacity for cable landings over the next decade, increasing its lead over rivals, and effectively becoming the hub in the wheel.
Connectivity aside, some believe Singapore requires more capacity to harness new opportunities, culminating in the Singapore Green Data Centre Roadmap with 300MW of new data centre capacity.
Is this adequate? What do you think?
*Screenshot of undated EDB promotional material; based on events mentioned is likely produced in 2021.
