Data Centres

How Johor grew from 10MW to 1,500MW in three years

Johor is on track to largest data centre market in Southeast Asia.

Paul Mah

Paul Mah

— 2 min read
How Johor grew from 10MW to 1,500MW in three years
Photo Credit: JLand

After months of posting about the incredible rise of the Johor data centre market, I've finally penned it down into a single article.

If you don't know yet, Johor is on track to become the largest data centre market in Southeast Asia.

Here's what I wrote.

Once-in-a-generation growth

The rise of the Johor data centre market just across the border from Singapore has been fascinating to me personally.

Did you know: There was just 10MW of data centre capacity in Johor at the start of 2021? By 2024, this capacity has surged to over 1,500MW.

Granted, this includes data centres that are:

  • Operational.
  • Under construction.
  • Ready to begin construction.
  • In the early stages of planning.

But no matter how I look at the charts compared to other APAC markets, the growth trajectory remains astounding.

When preparation meets opportunity

The incredible growth didn't happen by chance. Sure, it is arguable that the Singapore data centre moratorium of 2019 set the stage for regional data centre growth.

But the Malaysia authorities moved quickly to seize the initiative from regional competitors too:

  • It moved quickly to attract GDS, others.
  • Created initiatives like Green Lane Pathway.
  • Doubled down with Ministry of Digital for investments.

Crucially, Malaysia wasn't new to data centres. It already has:

  • Clusters of data centres.
  • The Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC).
  • MDEC has been promoting Malaysia for years.

And that's how preparation met opportunity.

Sustained growth ahead

What's more amazing is the seemingly inexhaustible list of operators and hyperscalers who tell me they are going into Johor.

  • No matter who I talk to, everyone is either already building a data centre campus in Johor or say they have a pending announcement to make.
  • At W.Media - Global Malaysia CDC in KL last week, the Malaysia Deputy Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry gave us a glimpse of the government's strategy.

Malaysia's data centre market will soon surpass Singapore's 1,400MW of operational capacity. And it's not necessarily a bad thing - I'll share more next week, so stay tuned.

For now, you can read my article on W.Media here.

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