By Ashley Erika O. Jose, Reporter
ePLDT Inc., the information and communications technology (ICT) arm of PLDT Inc., is aiming to finish the study for its 12th data center site in Cavite this year, which is targeted to double the capacity of its largest data center to date.
“We are checking the potential site. What we are doing now is what you call a vulnerability and risk assessment. It is a formal study that we are conducting,” ePLDT President and Chief Executive Officer Victor S. Genuino told reporters on the sidelines of the Pilipinas AI launch on Monday.
The 12th data center, expected to rise in General Trias, Cavite, will be ePLDT’s largest once completed, with a planned capacity of about 100 megawatts (MW), double the current 50-MW capacity of VITRO Sta. Rosa. VITRO Sta. Rosa, located on a five-hectare lot in Sta. Rosa, Laguna, is considered the country’s largest data center campus.
The company is optimistic construction for the planned site will start next year, once the study is completed, Mr. Genuino said.
“We are hopeful that with data sovereignty and everything we can accelerate and fill up our VITRO Sta. Rosa. Once it reaches a certain capacity of occupants and customers, then we can trigger the discussion on our data center 12,” he added.
Mr. Genuino also said the company is carefully evaluating trends for the new data center to ensure it uses the latest technology.
“We have to look at the site, obviously, the site location, and then we have to monitor the trends in technology. So that when we build something, we want to ensure that it is not old technology, it will be new technology,” he said.
In April, the company said construction for its next data center is scheduled to begin in 2026, with completion expected by 2028. The project will be scaled up in phases, starting at 20 MW.
VITRO, Inc., ePLDT’s data center arm and a PLDT group subsidiary, currently operates 11 data centers across the Philippines — including in Makati, Taguig, Pasig, Parañaque, Subic, Clark, Cebu, and Davao — with a combined capacity of nearly 100 MW, supporting enterprise and hyperscale demand.
Mr. Genuino said discussions to sell a stake in ePLDT’s data center assets are ongoing.
“We have an ongoing discussion. We are just trying to find the right partner for our data center assets. It is a very critical asset. We just want to find the right partner for it,” he said.
In August, PLDT Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said the company had resumed talks to sell a stake in its data center business.
ePLDT is currently negotiating with several companies to sell 49% of its data center business, valued at $1 billion.
Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of the PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., holds a majority stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls.
