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State-Owned Johor Group Plans Data Center Campus at Sedenak Tech Park West

By: IDCNOVARegion: Southeast Asia
JLand Group, the real estate arm of Malaysia's Johor state government, is advancing plans to develop a data center campus at Sedenak Tech Park West (STeP West), a move that could significantly expand the region's digital infrastructure footprint. The announcement comes as Johor solidifies its position as Southeast Asia's fastest-growing data center hub, driven by proximity to Singapore and abundant land availability.

In a statement released yesterday, SIPP Power, a subsidiary of Malaysian utility giant YTL Power, said it has agreed to acquire 145 acres within STeP West, which is owned by JLand Group through its subsidiary JLG Technopark. The agreement also includes an option to purchase an additional 400 acres to accommodate future expansion. The acquired land will be used to develop a data center campus, according to the announcement.

The STeP West development is expected to complement YTL's existing Green Data Center Park in nearby Kulai, which has a planned capacity of up to 1.2GW. However, YTL has not clarified whether the 1.2GW figure applies solely to the new STeP West campus or represents the combined capacity of both sites. The Kulai park is designed to deliver up to 600MW, of which 72MW is currently operational at the YTL Johor Data Center 1. If the 1.2GW total covers both projects, the Sedenak campus would account for approximately 600MW of capacity.

STeP is a sprawling 1,376-acre industrial park located roughly 55 kilometers northwest of Johor Bahru, the state capital. The park is divided into eastern and western sections, with the eastern portion fully sold out, according to the tech park's website. The site currently lists 22 plots designated for data center use, with lot sizes ranging from five to 54 acres, suggesting that YTL's development will be distributed across multiple parcels.

JLand Group has been steadily divesting land to a roster of data center operators, including PDG, Yondr Group, Digital Decarbonization Solutions Platform, and Bridge DC, among others. The company is wholly owned by Johor Corporation, a state-backed development institution, underscoring the Malaysian government's strategic interest in positioning Johor as a regional digital infrastructure gateway.

YTL Power International, the parent entity of SIPP Power, is a subsidiary of YTL Corporation, one of the largest conglomerates listed on the Kuala Lumpur stock exchange. Beyond the STeP West project, YTL's data center subsidiary is developing four additional facilities, including YTL Johor Data Center 2, 3, and 6, as well as YTL Sentul Data Center 1 in Kuala Lumpur.

Industry analysts note that the expansion reflects a broader trend of state-linked entities entering the data center market, attracted by stable long-term returns and rising cloud demand across Southeast Asia. The region has seen a surge in hyperscale investments, with major players such as Microsoft committing billions to local infrastructure. For Johor, the addition of a multi-hundred-megawatt campus at STeP West would further cement its role as a primary data center destination in the region, though questions remain about the exact scale and timeline of the project. DCD has reached out to both YTL Power and JLand Group for additional details.