PC: Cloud Data Center Events
Partnership with Proen Corp. to Drive Investment in AI and Cloud Infrastructure
Edgnex Data Centers, a subsidiary of Dubai-based Damac Group, is investing around $1 billion in a data centre project in Thailand-the company’s first foray into Southeast Asia’s rapidly expanding cloud and artificial intelligence infrastructure sector. It disclosed this on Friday as Edgnex confirmed its partnership with local data centre provider Proen Corp., signalling a major development in the global race to expand data facilities in the region.
This aggressive plan will be spread over three phases. The first phase comprises a data centre located in downtown Bangkok, which is slated to go online in March 2024. This facility will provide an initial capacity of 5 megawatts which will eventually be ramped up to 20 megawatts as part of the plan. In total, Edgnex said it plans to pour in more than 32 billion baht for three to four data centre projects under the joint venture.
This latest investment by Damac is in quick succession after a similar commitment from Alphabet Inc’s Google, which also plans to build a $1 billion data centre expansion in Thailand to meet the rising demand for AI-related services. These big infrastructures are believed crucial in support of renewed efforts at igniting the economy of Thailand, which had long been dealing with household debt and other financial pressures.
Southeast Asia: A Growing Market for AI and Cloud
The geographically largest bloc is Southeast Asia, which accommodates almost 685 million people who are now seen as an increasingly important growth market for the world’s technology titans. Companies like Microsoft Corp., Nvidia Corp., and Amazon.com Inc. already consider investing heavily in AI and cloud infrastructure across the region. Damac’s latest venture is part of this trend and highlights the increasing importance of Southeast Asia in the global technology landscape.
Hussain Sajwani, founder of Damac Group, said the company is seeking to increase its capacity of data centres as the demand increases. “As the demand is cooking up and growing, we will be looking to launch that-it’s a gradual process,” Sajwani said in an interview. At the same time, he said the expansion of the facility in Bangkok is to be well coordinated with Thailand’s government initiatives to “promote a digital economy”.
Target Hyperscalers and AI Businesses
The future customers in the data centre for Damac include hyperscale cloud operators, AI related businesses, and government agencies. The company also boasts a more general pipeline, which consists of plans for about 100 megawatts of future data centre capacity.
The foray into Thailand may well set a template for other companies from Dubai when considering investments in the Southeast Asian market, Sajwani said. Beyond data centres, Damac is also evaluating high-end residential projects as part of investments in the country, further cementing its commitment to the region.
Damac is one of the several firms investing in Southeast Asia as businesses across all industries wake up to the reality of having to create the appropriate infrastructure to leverage the swell demands for AI and cloud computing in the region.
