200,000 sq ft data centre space in Malaysia No. 1 Technology City for MNCs, IT firms
01 Mar 2021
I-Berhad says the expansion and transformation of its data centre park in Malaysia No 1. Technology City in the heart of Selangor to a dedicated “data centre zone” is in the works.
Founder and chairman Tan Sri Lim Kim Hong said I-Berhad has been given the approval to build two data centres with a combined space of 200,000 square feet.
The Tier 3 data centres will be built on six acres of prime freehold land located across the 72-acre i-City Golden Triangle (i-City GT) development on Federal Highway.
I-Berhad, which posted a net profit of RM3.28 million for the 12 months ended December 31, 2020, is the master developer of the multi-billion ringgit i-City GT.
Lim told NST Property recently that each data centre will accommodate up to 100,000 sq ft of space, offering a whole new level of robust data hosting, high-speed connections and uninterrupted service.
He said I-Berhad is targeting multinational companies (MNCs), financial organisations, information technology firms, and other corporations who are looking for state-of-the-art data centres as their new home.
Through conscious efforts in adopting cutting-edge technologies and its 400G-capable network connectivity, the Malaysia No. 1 Technology City is a ready-made destination of choice for global technology firms looking to relocate to Malaysia for its world-class infrastructure and a readily-available pool of knowledge workers, he said.
“As broadband connectivity becomes a critical component for multi-national corporations, i-City GT’s push toward being 5G-ready will ensure that it becomes the nucleus of telecommunications organisations, financial institutions and high-technology firms, as well as start-up companies.
“We feel the expansion of our data centre park is timely, given the government’s focus on the digital economy. There are also many local and international companies out there looking to operate within a dedicated space where there are cloud services and web hosting, among others,” Lim said.
Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin expects the digital economy to make up 22.6 per cent of Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 2025, and create over half a million jobs in the sector by then.
Muhyiddin said this at the launch of the MyDigital and the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint.
The Prime Minister said the government was also targeting a 30 per cent increase in the level of productivity of the economic sector by 2030 through the digital economy.
According to the blueprint, the government has set a target for Malaysia to become a regional market producer of digital products and a digital solution provider by 2030.
Technology evolution at i-City GT
The dedicated data centre zone by I-Berhad is an extension to the developer’s existing data centre that is situated within the tech-centric i-City GT.
The data centre has been in operation since 2008.
Lim said i-City GT is already demonstrating fruition of its leverage on technology with its very own mobile platform, i-City SuperApp, where functions are integrated for payments, parking and other services within the ultrapolis.
He said new partnerships are also being forged with global technology leaders like Huawei International, HIKVision and SenseTime, in addition to the ongoing collaborations with ServCorp of Australia, Hilton Group of the USA and Central Group of Thailand.
Lim said recently I-Berhad remains focused on enhancing and extracting full value from i-City GT for future earnings growth.
He said the sustainability of future growth will be underpinned by the remaining 60 per cent of gross floor area (GFA) of total projects in the development that has yet to be developed.
The i-City GT’s latest addition is Sumurwang Tower. This new Green Building Index-certified Grade-A office tower has incorporated the ABCs (Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, and Cloud Computing) of technology and smart features.
BeCentral is another new project that is coming up in i-City GT with smart technology features. The residential project, situated adjacent to Central i-City mall and neighbouring the DoubleTree by Hilton, employs facial recognition and QR codes for entry and car park access, among other things.
Source: NST
