Bain-Backed Bridge Data Centres Signs 400MW Power Deal for New Malaysia Facility

Bridge Data Centres has secured 400 megawatts of electricity under an agreement with Malaysia state electric company TNB, which will provide power for the Bain Capital-backed operator’s latest facility in Johor.

Dubbed MY07, the under-construction project in Johor’s Ulu Tiram suburb will be a hyperscale data centre catering to growing demand for digital infrastructure in the region, according to BDC, a Southeast Asia-based subsidiary of Bain-owned Chinese operator Chindata.

BDC and TNB also signed a bilateral energy supply contract under Malaysia’s Corporate Renewable Energy Supply Scheme, through which the government aims to achieve 70 percent renewable energy in the power mix by 2050. BDC CEO Eric Tan said the collaboration aligns with global trends in green data centre operations while contributing to Malaysia’s renewable energy transition goals.

“The MY07 electricity supply agreement is pivotal in ensuring reliable power availability, enabling BDC to maintain rapid delivery timelines for our hyperscale data centre services and meet the dynamic demands of our customers,” Tan said. “The green energy partnership establishes a framework for BDC to incorporate renewable energy into its operations, demonstrating a shared commitment between TNB and BDC toward sustainability and carbon reduction.”

Peninsula Power-Up

The news comes after BDC in June announced plans to build a 100MW facility at Mah Sing Group’s Southville City master-planned township south of Kuala Lumpur.

Mah Sing has earmarked 150 acres (60.7 hectares) at Southville City for expansion into a data centre hub with a planned capacity of up to 500MW. BDC’s other facilities include a 100MW hyperscale campus in Johor’s Kidex Sedenak business park.

Also in Johor, Princeton Digital Group in July delivered the 52MW initial phase of its 150MW JH1 data centre campus, coming less than 14 months after the Warburg Pincus-backed platform acquired the development site in Kulai.

PDG signed an energy supply agreement for the entire capacity of the JH1 campus with TNB, with the deal following the energisation of the first phase by the state utility under Malaysia’s Green Lane Pathway initiative to fast-track power to projects.

Regional Standout

Operational data centre capacity in Malaysia soared 80 percent in the first half of 2024 compared with the previous six-month period to lead all Asia Pacific nations in growth, according to a Cushman & Wakefield report.

The surge was driven by activity in Johor, with the southern state having reached 1.9 gigawatts of existing and committed capacity — putting it on the brink of joining the region’s four 2GW-plus markets, namely Beijing (2.9GW), Tokyo (2.7GW), Shanghai (2GW) and Sydney (2GW).

Up the peninsula in Selangor, Sime Darby Property this week announced a fresh build-and-lease agreement that will see the development of additional facilities for Google after breaking ground on the US tech giant’s first Malaysia data centre two months ago.

The deal builds on the collaboration announced in May by Google and Sime Darby Property, a real estate unit of the Malaysian conglomerate, under which the Silicon Valley-based goliath is investing $2 billion to develop its first data centres and cloud region in the country.