New massive data center to open in Manila in 2023
MANILA, Philippines — A new massive data center by a Singapore-based data center platform is set to open in the Philippines in March 2023.
Digital Edge Holdings Pte. Ltd. on Wednesday announced that it will open a 10-megawatt data center in Manila, which will also mark the debut of the firm into the Philippine market and further its mission to “bridge the digital divide in South East Asia’s high growth markets.”
According to Digital Edge, the new data center, NARRA1, is a joint project with the Threadborne Group, which is a local family office focused on technology and real estate.
The firm said NARRA1 aims to plug unmet demand from the double-digit growth of the Philippines’ data center colocation market which Structure Research estimates will grow to US$313 million by 2026.
Digital Edge also confirmed it has already received bookings for the new data center including from multiple major domestic internet service providers.
NARRA1, which is located in Biñan, Laguna, is a 2,200-cabinet “state-of-the-art” data center which is seen to be the largest carrier neutral facility in operation in the Philippines at the time of completion, Digital Edge said.
“It has been designed to meet the latest demands from cloud, network, digital media, and enterprise customers in terms of power specifications, reliability, security, and sustainability,” the firm said.
The new facility will also be the most energy- and water-efficient data center in the market.
It has a market leading PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness) of < 1.2 and a WUE (Water Usage Effectiveness) of 1.355 at optimal operating temperature. The facility will also be triple certified with LEED Gold, BERDE, and EDGE certifications, Digital Edge said.
“The completion of NARRA1, our first major greenfield design and build project since the company was established, is a landmark moment in the creation of our regional platform across Asia,” Digital Edge chief executive officer Samuel Lee said in a press release.
“As we come online in the Philippines for the first time with this state-of-the-art facility, we further enhance our presence in South East Asia and progress our mission to bridge the digital divide by building the essential, sustainable digital ecosystems of the future,” he added.
For his part, Digital Edge country manager in the Philippines Vic Barrios said the new data center will “finally offer the Philippines the much needed, high-quality digital infrastructure it deserves.”
“Most importantly, NARRA1 raises the bar in terms of sustainable design and operational efficiency, and we hope it becomes the new gold standard for green data centers in the Philippines and beyond,” he said.
Threadborne Group chairman Charlie Rufino, meanwhile, said NARRA1 will “provide much needed critical infrastructure to domestic and international cloud, network and enterprise customers, without compromising on our environmental responsibilities.”
“We look forward to further partnership with Digital Edge as we seek to capitalize on the ongoing digital transformation of the Philippines’ economy and usher in a new era of world-class digital infrastructure,” he added.
READ: Digital Edge to usher new energy efficiency standards to PH data center market
