EQUINIX COMPLETES HUGE EXPANSION TO SG5 DATA CENTRE FACILITY

PRESS RELEASE: Equinix has completed a US$86 million (S$117 million) expansion of its fifth data centre SG5 in Singapore as demand for digital infrastructure continues rising.

The amount is on top of Equinix's US$144 million initial investment in the data centre, dubbed SG5, in Tanjong Kling, Jurong West, which opened in August last year.

The expansion more than doubles the facility's space for servers to more than 2,950 cabinets to meet the requirements of current and new customers. It also more than doubles the initial server floor space to over 83,000 sq ft.

When SG5 is fully decked out, it is expected to be able to offer 5,000 cabinets and a server floor space of close to 129,000 sq ft.

Ms Leong Yee May, managing director of Equinix South Asia, said: “Our digital infrastructure empowers public and private organisations with the capabilities necessary for innovation, participation and success in the digital economy.

 

“This is crucial as enterprises in Singapore continue their drive towards digital transformation, solidifying Singapore's status as South-east Asia's premier business and technology hub.”

Equinix added that it has been selected by subsea cable operator Inligo Networks to set up a cable landing station for its Asia Connect Cable System subsea cable in Singapore.

The 18,000km cable system is one of the 14 key submarine cable systems that Equnix's data centres in Singapore are connected to.

The cable system will provide low latency and high-capacity connectivity between Singapore, Indonesia, Australia and the United States. Its construction is expected to start this year.

There are more than 70 operational data centres in Singapore as at last year, with a total available IT capacity of about 1,000MW.

The Covid-19 pandemic has been driving digitalisation and, thus, demand for data centres globally. Such facilities are vital for the Internet and its applications, providing functions such as storage of digital files and transferring of data online.

But supply has been crippled in Singapore due to a moratorium on new data centres in place since 2019, said real estate consultancy Cushman and Wakefield. This means that the data centre market here is one of the tightest globally, with vacancy rates below 2 per cent, the firm said in January.

Under the moratorium, the release of state land for data centres and the development of new ones on existing state land have been temporarily paused for the Government to review how to grow the industry more sustainably.

Data centres are big energy guzzlers, powering servers and keeping them cool. They account for 7 per cent of total electricity consumption in Singapore in 2020.

But the moratorium is expected to be lifted soon. Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information Janil Puthucheary told Parliament last month that a call for new data centre applications will be launched by the second quarter of this year.

The new centres will, however, be subjected to higher standards of power efficiency.

Equinix's nine-storey SG5 facility has been awarded the Singapore Government's Green Mark Platinum certification for its sustainable design and practices.

The company has said the data centre uses a surface cooling technology that can reduce water and power consumption. SG5 also uses recycled Newater.

Since 2020, Equinix's data centres in Singapore have also been using 100 per cent renewable energy.

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