ST TELEMEDIA Global Data Centres (STT GDC) Philippines said it’s exploring potential sites for data center expansion because it sees growing demand, including from artificial intelligence (AI)-related workloads.
“We’re at all times looking. So, we’ve one in Davao, we have already got a site in Mindanao. And again, as we start seeing expansion and with AI we’re continuing to explore where else would the demand seem like and where would they need to be positioned,” STT GDC Philippines President and Chief Executive Officer Carlomagno E. Malana told reporters on the sidelines of a briefing last week.
He said the corporate is weighing possible locations for expansion within the Visayas because it maps out its next phase of growth, adding that it’s assessing developments particularly in metropolitan areas.
STT GDC Philippines is a three way partnership amongst Globe Telecom, Inc., Ayala Corp. and ST Telemedia Global Data Centres. It operates seven data centers within the Philippines with a combined information technology load of nearly 150 megawatts (MW).
The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said the country’s data center capability could reach about 1.5 gigawatts by 2028 as recent capability comes online from existing and recent operators. At present, the capability is below 200 MW.
Mr. Malana said demand for data centers is increasingly driven by global and regional requirements for power and data storage, in addition to AI-related workloads as more corporations adopt AI.
Last week, STT GDC said it plans to expand the capability of its Fairview data center by about 4 MW by yearend, bringing total capability at the ability to 32 MW from the present 28 MW.
The Fairview data center is designed to scale as much as 124 MW, with development to be carried out in phases to align with customer demand, Mr. Malana said. — Ashley Erika O. Jose