US-BASED EdgeConneX and its local partner Aboitiz InfraCapital, Inc. (AIC) are set to build their first data center in Luzon next year, the former’s managing director for Asia Pacific said.
“We expect construction to begin in 2023 and are initially looking at Luzon to serve growing business and industry around Metro Manila,” Kelvin Fong, managing director for Asia Pacific at EdgeConneX, told BusinessWorld in an e-mail interview last week.
He said the partnership with AIC will grant EdgeConneX access to over 20 other potential land sites across the greater Manila area.
The country’s data center industry is expected to be worth $134 million in 2022 and to increase at a five-year compound annual growth rate of 25% through 2027, he also said, citing data from research and consulting firm Structure Research.
The global data center provider sees the Philippines as growing in importance, with most major cloud service providers and content delivery networks already having a presence.
“The Philippines is primed for the next wave of digital infrastructure deployments and investments in the Asia-Pacific region,” Mr. Fong said, noting that the latest subsea cable developments also position the country well for connectivity.
“There is strong governmental support for the investment and deployment of digital infrastructure. The Philippines’ Department of Information and Communications Technology is said to be investing $960 million in the next three years to improve the country’s digital infrastructure,” he added.
At the same time, the company sees a strong emphasis on the use of renewable energy, which helps position the EdgeConneX and Aboitiz InfraCapital joint venture to meet the underserved and high domestic data demand.
“The Department of Energy in the Philippines has set new renewable energy targets in its latest version of the National Renewable Energy Program,” Mr. Fong said. “The program targets to achieve more than 35% renewable energy in the overall energy mix by 2030 and more than 50% by 2040.” — Arjay L. Balinbin
