By Ashley Erika O. Jose, Reporter
THE PHILIPPINES’ data center capacity could reach 1.5 gigawatts (GW) by 2028 as more operators, both local and foreign, set up facilities in the country next year, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said.
“We will likely reach more than 1 GW,” ICT Secretary Henry Rhoel R. Aguda told BusinessWorld on the sidelines of Equinix, Inc.’s data center launch on Wednesday. “The private sector is committing 1.5 GW (by 2028)… It is a matter of attracting as many companies as possible to set up here.”
Equinix, a global digital infrastructure company, opened its data centers in the Philippines. The facility provides high-speed interconnection services that give enterprises direct access to networks, cloud platforms and artificial intelligence (AI) service providers through a secure private network.
Mr. Aguda said the additional capacity is expected to come in starting next year, as several foreign hyperscalers and local developers have shown interest in expanding in the Philippines.
The Philippines is becoming a strategic location for data centers, driven by our strong digital economy, improving connectivity and large consumer base, the DICT said earlier.
Mr. Aguda said the agency is set to conduct an investment mission to the US to promote the country as a data center hub. They seek to attract two or three new large-scale operators next year, with a combined capacity of about 200 megawatts (MW).
The country’s total operational data center capacity stands at about 200 MW. He said the momentum is growing, and more developments are expected in the next few years.
VITRO, Inc., the data center unit of the PLDT Group under ePLDT, Inc., is building its 12th data center in General Trias, Cavite, which will be its biggest to date.
The facility will have a capacity of 100 MW — double that of its 50-MW VITRO Sta. Rosa campus in Laguna, now the biggest in the country.
Mr. Aguda said power and connectivity will not be major issues in supporting the industry’s growth.
“We have a lot of renewables and LNG (liquefied natural gas), so power will not be a major issue,” he said. On the connectivity side, the Philippines has an expanding fiber backbone and multiple submarine cable links, he added.
The DICT earlier said the Philippines is emerging as one of the region’s top data center locations, with strong demand for cloud, fintech, e-commerce and AI services.
Its strategic geographic position, growing pool of digital talent and government initiatives to improve broadband infrastructure make it increasingly attractive to global operators.
