Equinix has officially launched its fifth data centre in Singapore, the result of an initial $144 million investment. The company had previously said that it planned to open the new data centre in the first half of 2021. However, the official opening of the new facility was pushed back due to disruptions associated with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The company has confirmed that the SG5 IBX data centre, located at the Tanjong Kling data centre park, has more than 41,700 square feet of colocation space, providing an initial capacity of 1300 cabinets. At full buildout, the facility will offer 5000 cabinets with a total colocation space of close to 129,000 square feet.
The SG5 facility is directly connected to its four existing Equinix IBX data centres in Singapore via low-latency dark fibre links. It is expected this will enable customers to securely interconnect with more than 700 companies in the market. The addition of the new data centre strengthens the company’s cross-island presence and location diversity, with all five of Equinix’s current IBX data centres strategically spread across the island.
“Businesses in the Asia Pacific region continue to increase their demand for digital infrastructure, with Singapore being the epicentre for digital business growth in the region,” Jeremy Deutsch, president of Equinix Asia Pacific, said. “We see a growing shift in the priorities of business leaders towards investing in environmental, social and governance initiatives when they consider their digital transformation plans, and Equinix is in full alignment with these goals as we put our sustainability targets into action.“
The purpose-built facility will also help to address the need for a sustainable, future-ready digital infrastructure to enhance enterprises’ digital resiliency, it uses Equinix’s bespoke surface cooling technology, known as the Equinix Cooling Array, which supports high-density customers while reducing water and power consumption needs. Combined with connection to Singapore’s recycled NEWater, an energy-saving process that is aligned with the Singapore government’s green initiatives, SG5 is said to be well-positioned to support customers’ requirements from higher densities to their environmental and sustainability needs.
“Global businesses look to Singapore as the key location for where they build their digital infrastructure and leverage the ecosystem and cloud services available to ensure resilience, grow and scale across Asia-Pacific,” Yee May Leong, managing director of Equinix South Asia, said. “As Singapore continues its journey towards its National Green Plan 2030, we continue to support the digital transformation of the private and public sector with a commitment in action for environmental sustainability.”
