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STT GDC Investing $1.56 Billion in Mega-Manila Data Centers

ST Telemedia Global Data Centres (STT GDC) Philippines expects a sharp uptick in data center development as local firms embrace cloud-first strategies, its CEO said on May 8.

1 week ago 2 min read

ST Telemedia Global Data Centres (STT GDC) Philippines expects a sharp uptick in data center development as local firms embrace cloud-first strategies, its CEO said on May 8.

“Data center customers here remain largely concentrated in financial services, telecommunications, high-demand applications, and among the major hyperscalers,” said Carlomagno E. Malana, president and CEO of STT GDC Philippines, speaking at the company’s “Practical Insights” forum in Manila. He added that these organizations now view cloud deployment as the most efficient means to process and store information.

A 2023 survey commissioned by Alibaba Cloud found that roughly 85 percent of Philippine enterprises plan to migrate workloads to cloud platforms by year-end. That trend, along with growing reliance on autonomous artificial-intelligence tools, is fueling demand for additional data center capacity.

Regional Constraints Shift the Focus to Manila

Mr. Malana noted that Singapore’s limited land area and power constraints have prompted regional operators to look elsewhere, including in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines. “Space and power are at a premium in Singapore, which makes other markets more attractive,” he said.

Industry data from Leechiu Property Consultants indicate that the Philippines currently has 215 megawatts of data center capacity, with another 1,505 megawatts under development. STT GDC Philippines, a joint venture of Globe Telecom, Ayala Corporation, and ST Telemedia Global Data Centres, manages seven facilities with a combined IT load of 150 megawatts.

The company plans to bring two new data centers online this year: the 124-megawatt STT Fairview facility and a 6-megawatt expansion at STT Cavite. The pair represents a total investment of up to $1.56 billion. Data center construction costs typically run between $11 million and $12 million per megawatt, Mr. Malana said.

Looking ahead, STT GDC aims to finalize the design for phase two of the Fairview campus by year-end. The Quezon City site will expand in four stages, positioning the company to meet surging local demand.