Land-related matters have been completed and earthworks have also begun on the two data centers currently being built in Negeri Sembilan state in Malaysia, said the state’s Chief Minister Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun during a State Legislative Assembly sitting on Monday as reported by Bernama, Malaysian national news agency. One is a green data centre, developed by US investors in Nilai, while the other is an artificial intelligence (AI) data centre in Springhill, Port Dickson, developed by property and infrastructure developer Gamuda Bhd. The latter will also build a water treatment plant with a capacity of 65 million litres per day which will be managed by Syarikat Air Negeri Sembilan upon completion. This will supply the water requirements of the data center in Springhill as well as the surrounding residential area.
Gamuda had in January announced the purchase of 157.71 ha (389 acres) of freehold agriculture land for RM424.4mil in Springhill by its wholly-owned subsidiary, Gamuda DC Infrastructure Sdn Bhd, from West Synergy Sdn Bhd. The land, now named Springhill Industrial Park, will be developed into a data centre campus and technology park as part of the Malaysian Vision Valley 2.0 development corridor.Gamuda Engineering Sdn Bhd had recently awarded a RM51.38 million mechanical and electrical job to SJEE Engineering Sdn Bhd, a 51%-owned unit of Southern Score Builders Bhd. The job involves constructing and completing power cabling works from the IT USS to the data center hall. Completion will take about a year from July 1, 2025.
Analysts have reportedly estimated the park could support data centre (DC) capacity of between 700-1,000 megawatts (MWs) based on two to three MWs per acre with a downward adjustment in net area. “Assuming conservative construction costs of RM20 million per MW, potential long-term DC contracts could amount to RM14 billion-RM20 billion,” Hong Leong Investment Bank’s (HLIB) preliminary estimates showed.
RHB Investment Bank meanwhile believed the park could support capacity of 730MW, assuming 70 per cent of the land would be earmarked for DC development, giving a job valuation of RM15 billion. “This is based on the DC benchmark that Gamuda is building in Elmina Business Park, which is roughly RM21 million per MW and 2.7MWs per acre (as per our calculations),” the investment bank had said.
Negeri Sembilan is favoured due to its strategic location next to the commercial and industrial hub of Klang Valley, a good network of highways, and sufficient water and electricity supply.
