APAC Data Centre Capacity Grew 24% in 2021, Outpacing EMEA Region

Asia Pacific’s data centre sector added 1.5 gigawatts of fresh capacity in 2021 to bring the region’s total power potential to 7.9GW, with the 24 percent year-on-year surge outperforming the 19 percent rise seen in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, according to Knight Frank.

APAC’s top markets of Shanghai and Tokyo accounted for the bulk of the yearly increase, adding between 300 and 400 megawatts each, the global property consultancy said in its latest data centre report published in partnership with research firm DC Byte.

The Tier 1 markets of EMEA, meanwhile, saw more modest growth as Paris, Frankfurt and London gained a respective 287MW, 145MW and 105MW of new supply.

“EMEA and APAC continue to jostle for supremacy,” said Ed Galvin, founder and chief executive of DC Byte. “2021 saw EMEA cooling off slightly after the incredible 2.627GW growth we saw in 2020, with 1.582GW of new supply. Long-term sustained development in the sector remains strong with a CAGR of 16.9 percent across both regions in the past five years.”

Laying the Groundwork

Knight Frank and DC Byte linked Asia’s expansion in part to supportive policies rolled out in three of the region’s key server-hosting nations.

In China, authorities last December laid out a vision for four “mega clusters” of data centres in the north and west of the country. Officials later disclosed plans for a further 10 national data centre clusters as part of a broader strategy to transport data from eastern regions of China to western regions for storage and calculation.

In Southeast Asia, Singapore in January said it was lifting its moratorium on new data centre builds after a two-year halt. Under a new pilot programme, up to 60MW of capacity will be made available in 2022 to developments of between 10MW and 30MW each.

An emerging hotspot, India, saw several major new investments last year in data centre platforms, including Hiranandani-Yotta and Kotak-Sify, after the government said it would classify server-hosting facilities as infrastructure assets for easier access to funding.

Tokyo on Top

For Tokyo, Asia’s biggest data centre market with over 1.9GW of potential capacity, 2021 delivered a burst of activity in the city and its surrounds.

In the fourth quarter, AirTrunk’s TOK1 facility entered service in the Inzai suburb, with the first phase providing up to 60MW of capacity. Upon reaching its full development of 300MW, the complex will be the country’s largest data centre and the biggest in APAC ex China, according to the Sydney-based developer.

Also in Inzai, Singapore’s ST Telemedia last October announced plans to develop two data centres totalling 60MW alongside Australia’s Goodman.

In addition, US hyperscale specialist Stack Infrastructure has teamed with global investment firm Oaktree Capital Management to build a 36MW campus in Chiba prefecture, and the UK’s Colt has secured land for two sites in Inzai and northern Tokyo for 45MW of capacity, Knight Frank said.