Data Centres

Signs point to another shift in Singapore's data centre policy

Amid delays in allocation, unannounced builds, and growing global protectionism, a new pivot may be inevitable.

Paul Mah

Paul Mah

— 2 min read
Signs point to another shift in Singapore's data centre policy
Photo Credit: Unsplash/Jay Ang

In May last year, Singapore unveiled a surprise 300MW of new data centre capacity. It's April now; will there be a new DC-CFA to allocate data centre capacity soon?

The DC-CFA is one of the key mechanisms used to award new data centre capacity here. The pilot was unveiled in 2022 with selected proposals announced in 2023.

Then nothing.

Here's what I think could happen.

A quick recap

When Singapore announced 300MW of new data centre capacity on 30 May 2024, it said the new capacity would be made available "in the short term."

It's almost May again - and the anniversary of the announcement last year. Something will have to happen very soon.

To be clear, IMDA was emphatic that the DC-CFA isn't the only way to allocate data centre capacity from my enquiries.

A lot has happened

A lot has happened over the last 11 months, too.

  • Hypergrowth in Johor: AI data centres have grown even larger. In Johor for instance, AirTrunk is now building a second data centre campus at 270MW on top of its 150MW JHB1.
  • Potential new AI hubs: New massive data centres have been being announced in Thailand; there has also been talk of GW-scale data centre campuses there.
  • AI headwinds: The US AI Diffusion framework threat to shut the door on AI workloads in Southeast Asia accelerated data centre growth.

Note: The Trump administration has so far not offered even the slightest hint if they will go ahead with the AI Diffusion framework though.

Regardless, the question remains. Would a 300MW injection even cause a ripple in the face of surging data centre growth?

Here's what I think

As I wrote in my newsletter 2 weeks ago, I think the delay is a strong indication that another significant adjustment to Singapore's data centre policy is being overhauled.

There are hints.

  • For instance, Bloomberg reported recently that AirTrunk is borrowing to build a new 80MW greenfield data centre in Singapore.
  • Around the same time, AirTrunk announced a landmark initiative to recycle wastewater for its 270MW JHB2 data centre in Johor.

I do think the timing is a coincidence, but it did give rise to a personal hypothesis based entirely on my own analysis.

Could Singapore be ready to unveil a larger tranche of data centre capacity outside of the DC-CFA, allocated to operators that implement meaningful, large-scale sustainability initiatives?