Yondr Group, a global leader, developer, owner operator and service provider of data centers is making its entry into the Malaysian market with a planned 200MW hyperscale campus, to be developed on 72.8 acres of land obtained from TPM Technopark Sdn Bhd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Johor Corporation. The land is located in Sedenak Tech Park, a flagship data center complex which spans across 700 acres of land in Johor.
The Sedenak Tech Park, formerly known as Kulai Iskandar Data Exchange (KIDEX), is found within the larger 7,290 acres of Sedenak Technology Valley which comprises of technology-driven developments such as advanced electrical & electronic (E&E), medical device manufacturing, green renewable energy, biotechnology and food tech, among other research and development facilities.
Yondr’s hyperscale campus will be developed through multiple phases and will deliver a total capacity of 200MW when fully completed, with the first phase scheduled for delivery in 2024. With access to at least 600MW of capacity, dark fibre connectivity, scalable utilities and infrastructure, Sedenak Tech Park is home to some of the largest data and cloud players within the Southeast Asia region.
“Malaysia is a significant part of our expansion plans within Southeast Asia. Our ability to secure this location in Sedenak Tech Park, complements our existing presence in Jakarta, Indonesia and further bolsters our strategic presence in this high growth market,” said Dave Newitt, Chief Executive Officer at Yondr Group which made the announcement of its maiden Malaysiian investment in end March.
“The state of Johor in Malaysia is in close proximity to other key data center metros, including Singapore which offers valuable interconnectivity routes, representing a true benefit for our clients especially in combination with the scalability in meeting requirements of power and land,” he added.
“We value Yondr’s strategic decision to invest in Sedenak Tech Park, as a testament of their confidence in our location and offerings as a world-class data hub for the region,” said Akmal Ahmad, Director of Johor Corporation’s Real Estate and Infrastructure Division and Chairman of TPM Technopark.
Akmal notes that the sheer scale of growing data consumption makes the development of hyperscale data center infrastructures a compelling international and regional opportunity for both investors and operators. “This exposure to Yondr’s well-established partnerships with major state-of-the-art hyperscale facilities will further fuel our technical infrastructure development dedicated to the nation and the region’s fast-growing digital economy,” said Akmal.
“This deployment will provide our hyperscale clients with an opportunity to exponentially scale their cloud computing requirements and benefit from being strategically located just a stone’s throw from Singapore and Indonesia,” said Aksel Vansten, Acquisition and Development Director for Asia Pacific Region of Yondr Group.
“As part of realising the state’s Digital Johor agenda as well as Malaysia’s Digital Blueprint roadmap, data center development is among the key components that will provide impetus not only to the ecosystem’s digitalisation, but also enable the fulfilment of our aspiration to become the region’s digital innovation hub,” said Syed Mohamed Syed Ibrahim, President and Chief Executive of Johor Corporation.
Emphasizing on Yondr’s deployment also signals a positive business climate and market potential in Johor, Syed Mohamed adds: “We welcome Yondr to Johor, Malaysia and look forward to working with them and our industrial development arm as they contribute to not just the growth of the region but to wealth creation and distribution of our economy and communities.”
The Asia Pacific region continues to be an attractive data center destination given its strategic location, growth potential, swift upsurge of technology platforms and networks across a wide spectrum of markets. Within Southeast Asia, Malaysia’s data center market size is expected to hit a revenue of over US$800 million (RM3.24 billion) by 2025 and is already experiencing increasing investment spill-overs due to inherent land constraints in surrounding markets.
Johor’s location and ample land capacity to build, expand and develop digital infrastructure footprint at economical levels adds to its intrinsic attraction. Further, growth in the data center sector is measured in power, not just in square footage; on this score, Sedenak Tech Park is the top achiever both in its power access of 600MW in critical IT capacity, as well as its land mass dedicated to data center development.