APAC Data Center Construction Market - Industry Outlook & Forecast 2024-2029
The APAC data center construction market by investment is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.28% from 2023 to 2029.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
The APAC data center construction market is experiencing significant growth, fueled by government support for data center development, rapid advances in submarine cable connectivity, investments from cloud and technology service providers, and a surge in the adoption of artificial intelligence as a part of digitalization initiatives by businesses across APAC.
China currently leads the APAC data center construction market regarding power capacity. India, Japan, Malaysia, Australia, and Indonesia are key contributors to capacity growth in the area. Additionally, we can expect increased investment activities in Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, South Korea, and New Zealand throughout the forecast period.
The APAC data center construction market experienced substantial investments from key players such as Airtrunk, NTT DATA, AWS, Equinix, GDS Services, and Keppel Data Centers. The total announced investments exceeded USD 10 billion.
Governments and data center operators are increasingly interested in integrating renewable energy. Governments across the region are actively taking measures to encourage the adoption of renewable energy sources. For example, New Zealand has outlined its dedication to achieving full dependence on renewable electricity sources by 2030. It aims to attain net-zero greenhouse gas emissions (excluding biogenic methane) by 2050.
The APAC market is experiencing consistent growth in connectivity through the installation of new submarine cables such as Raman, SeaMeWe-6, JUNO, Asia Link Cable, SEA-H2X, Asia Connect Cable-1, and Hawaiki Nui. These cables are anticipated to become operational during the forecast period.
The introduction of 5G technology in the region will profoundly impact the data center industry. With 5G enabling faster internet connectivity, wider bandwidth, and reduced processing time, a substantial increase in data volume is anticipated. Hence, a surge in data demand is driving the necessity for heightened investments in regional data centers. Countries such as Indonesia, Australia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, India, Vietnam, and others expect to be significantly influenced by this technological shift.
KEY TRENDS
Increase in Digitalization
Governments in APAC, including Malaysia, Thailand, India, Australia, Japan, South Korea, China, New Zealand, and others, prioritize digitalization as a crucial focus.
Many governments are developing strategies to boost their countries' digital development. For instance, China's digital economy achieved a scale of about 50.2 trillion yuan in 2022, roughly equivalent to USD 7.25 trillion, comprising 41.5% of the GDP.
Adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Artificial intelligence (AI) is gaining traction across Asia as the trend toward automation and intelligent operations continues to surge. Several regional governments are rolling out multiple strategies to promote artificial intelligence. For example, South Korea's focus on the digital strategy aims to establish the country as a key player among the world's leading AI countries by 2027, following the U.S. and China closely.
SEGMENTATION INSIGHTS
The APAC data center construction market is predominantly influenced by the development of colocation facilities, which has attracted significant investments. The market witnesses continuous expansion as new entrants actively participate in establishing colocation data centers. Concurrently, hyperscale data center operators are strengthening their market footprint by investing substantially in cloud regions. Notably, in 2023, countries such as Australia, India, and Japan also witnessed notable investments in enterprise data centers.
In the APAC region, countries often experience elevated temperatures and water scarcity issues. Consequently, data center operators in this region are inclined to employ air-based cooling methods. Many data centers also opt for free-cooling chillers, allowing for partial cooling by harnessing outside air.
Given the typically elevated temperatures and water scarcity challenges in APAC countries, data center operators are inclined to employ air-based cooling methods. Many data centers also favor free-cooling chillers, enabling them to achieve partial cooling by harnessing external air.
The region is experiencing an uptick in establishing data centers, particularly those undergoing Tier III and IV certification in the design or construction stages. Many private and public entities, including those in banking, financial services, insurance (BFSI), education, and government sectors, are obtaining Uptime Institute's Tier III/IV certification either during the design phase or after the facility's completion.
The report includes the investment in the following areas:
Facility Type
Colocation Data Centers
Hyperscale Data Centers
Enterprise Data Centers
Infrastructure
Electrical Infrastructure
Mechanical Infrastructure
General Construction
Electrical Infrastructure
UPS Systems
Generators
Transfer Switches & Switchgear
PDUs
Other Electrical Infrastructure
Mechanical Infrastructure
Cooling Systems
Racks
Other Mechanical Infrastructure
Cooling System
CRAC & CRAH Units
Chiller Units
Cooling Towers, Condensers & Dry Coolers
Economizers & Evaporative
Other Cooling Units
Cooling Technique
Air-based Cooling
Liquid-based Cooling
General Construction
Core & Shell Development
Installation & Commissioning Services
Engineering & Building Design
Fire Detection & Suppression
Physical Security
DCIM/BMS Solutions
Tier Standard
Tier I & II
Tier III
Tier IV
GEOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS
China dominates the APAC data center construction market regarding data center development. India, Australia, Japan, Singapore, and Hong Kong are among the other major markets with high data center development activities in APAC.
Regarding power capacity growth across markets, emerging locations such as South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia lead the APAC data center construction market with absolute growth rates of around 120%, 300%, 100%, and 92%, respectively, between 2024 and 2029.
In terms of power capacity, barring China, emerging locations such as India, Hong Kong, Japan, the Philippines, Taiwan, and South Korea displayed strong growth between 2022 and 2023 with absolute growth rates of around 9%, 26%, 28%, 53%, 18%, and 19%, respectively, which has led to strong growth in the overall APAC region.
In terms of investment, in 2023, markets such as India, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Vietnam, and others witnessed stronger growth in the APAC data center construction market than in past years. Significantly emerging Southeast Asian locations, such as Malaysia and Indonesia, have grown across Johor, Cyberjaya, Jakarta, and West Java.
However, after lifting the ban on data center construction in Singapore, other major markets in Southeast Asia might experience some challenges from the Singapore market in terms of demand attraction capacity.
China, India, South Korea, and Indonesia are experiencing substantial growth in adopting artificial intelligence (AI). In addition, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines are attracting fresh investments from data center operators, making them anticipated choices for data center development in the upcoming forecast period.
Overall, almost all the APAC data center construction markets are showing opportunities for data center growth in the coming years. Nevertheless, there is an anticipation of a gradual acceleration in investments over the next two to three years, driven by the projected increase in project announcements and growing demand across countries in APAC.
Geography
China
Hong Kong
Australia
New Zealand
Japan
India
South Korea
Taiwan
Rest of APAC
Southeast Asia
Singapore
Indonesia
Malaysia
Thailand
Philippines
Vietnam
Other Southeast Asian Countries
VENDOR LANDSCAPE
The APAC data center construction market has grown significantly over the last five years, thanks to investments from several local and global operators.
Colocation providers strategically build facilities in phases within the APAC region, aligning with market demand. Further, there is an expectation for a heightened demand for power infrastructure featuring higher capacity systems in 2N redundancy configuration across multiple facilities.
Investors in APAC adopt various sustainable designs to ensure that the facility operates at a PUE of less than 1.4, which was not achievable by the operational data center built before 2017. Innovative air-based cooling solutions, efficient power technologies, and sustainable construction practices complement the recent sustainable data center design practices.
Major hyperscale operators investing in the APAC data center construction market include Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft, Meta (Facebook), and Google.
Key Construction Contractors
AECOM
Arup
Aurecon Group
CSF Group
DSCO Group
Gammon Construction
Larsen & Toubro
NTT Facilities
PM Group
Studio One Design
Other Prominent Construction Contractors
AWP Architects
BYME Engineering
Chung Hing Engineers Group
Corgan
CTCI
DPR Construction
Fortis Construction
Hutchinson Builders
ISG
Kienta Engineering Construction
Linesight
LSK Engineering
M+W Group
Nakano Corporation
Obayashi Corporation
Powerware Systems
Sato Kogyo
Sterling and Wilson (Shapoorji Pallonji Group)
Red Engineering
Rider Levett Bucknall
Turner & Townsend
Prominent Support Infrastructure Vendors
ABB
Caterpillar
Cisco Systems
Cummins
Eaton
Rittal
Schneider Electric
STULZ
Vertiv
Other Prominent Support Infrastructure Vendors
Airedale
Alfa Laval
Canovate
Cyber Power Systems
Delta Electronics
EAE
Fuji Electric
Green Revolution Cooling
HITEC Power Protection
KOHLER Power
Legrand
Mitsubishi Electric
Narada
Piller Power Systems
Rolls-Royce
Shenzhen Envicool Technology
Siemens
Socomec
Trane
Prominent Data Center Investors
Alibaba Group
AirTrunk
Amazon Web Services
China Unicom
China Mobile International
Chindata Group (Bridge Data Centres)
Digital Realty
Equinix
GDS Services
Keppel Data Centres
Microsoft
NTT Global Data Centers
NEXTDC
ST Telemedia Global Data Centres
Other Prominent Data Center Investors
AdaniConneX
Big Data Exchange
CDC Data Centres
Chayora
Colt Data Centre Services
CtrlS Datacenters
Digital Edge DC
Edge Centres
EdgeConneX
Facebook (Meta)
Google
Haoyun Changsheng (Hotwon)
Huawei Technologies
Iron Mountain
LG Uplus
MettaDC
Nxtra by Airtel
OneAsia Network
Open DC
Princeton Digital Group
Pure Data Centres Group
SpaceDC
Shanghai Atrium (AtHub)
STACK Infrastructure
SUNeVison Holdings (iAdvantage)
Sify Technologies
Tencent
Tenglong Holding Group
Vantage Data Centers
Viettel IDC
VNET
Yotta Infrastructure Solutions
YTL Data Center
New Entrants
Digital Halo
Empyrion DC
Evolution Data Centres
GreenSquareDC
Gaw Capital
Infracrowd Capital
K2 Data Centres
Minoro Energi Indonesia
Nautilus Data Technologies
SC Zeus Data Centers
Regal Orion
YCO Cloud
Yondr
KEY QUESTIONS ANSWERED:
1. How big is the APAC data center construction market?
2. What is the growth rate of the APAC data center construction market?
3. What is the estimated market size in terms of area in the APAC data center construction market by 2029?
4. What are the key trends in the APAC data center construction market?
5. How many MW of power capacity is expected to reach the APAC data center construction market by 2029?
1. REPORT COVERAGE
1.1. WHAT’S INCLUDED
1.2. SEGMENTAL COVERAGE
1.2.1. Market Segmentation by Facility Type
1.2.2. Market Segmentation by Infrastructure
1.2.3. Market Segmentation by Electrical Infrastructure
1.2.4. Market Segmentation by Mechanical Infrastructure
1.2.5. Market Segmentation by Cooling System
1.2.6. Market Segmentation by Cooling Techniques
1.2.7. Market Segmentation by General Construction
1.2.8. Market Segmentation by Tier Standards
2. MARKET AT A GLANCE
3. PREMIUM INSIGHTS
3.1. KEY HIGHLIGHTS
3.2. KEY MARKET TRENDS
3.3. SEGMENTATION ANALYSIS
3.4. GEOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS
3.5. VENDOR ANALYSIS
4. INTRODUCTION
4.1. OVERVIEW
4.1.1. Global Power Capacity Addition
4.1.2. Historical Growth Scenario
4.1.3. Data Center Land Cost
4.1.4. Data Center Construction Cost
4.1.5. Data Center Power Cost
4.2. INTERNET PENETRATION
4.3. THE NETWORK READINESS INDEX
4.3.1. Technology
4.3.2. People
4.3.3. Governance
4.3.4. Impact
5. MARKET OPPORTUNITIES & TRENDS
5.1. INCREASED DIGITALIZATION
5.2. EDGE DATA CENTER DEPLOYMENT FUELED BY 5G INVESTMENTS