PLDT aims for 25% data center growth as Luzon expands
PLDT Inc. is targeting to grow its data centers by up to 25% with a planned expansion in Luzon, a company official said on Tuesday.
“We are currently growing double digits. The growth rate of any market in the data center and cloud professional services ranges anywhere from 20-25% and that is our aspiration,” PLDT First Vice-President and Head of Enterprise and International Business Groups Albert Mitchell L. Locsin, said in an interview with ANC.
To date, PLDT has 10 data centers, Mr. Locsin said, adding that the company is now building its 11th data center.
“We are building our 11th hyperscale data center so that we can actually attract more hyperscalers to set up their cloud regions in the Philippines,” he said.
Mr. Locsin described the company’s 11th data center as its “biggest” with a capacity of 50 megawatts (MW).
“[It has] an IT load of 36 that can cater to the largest hyperscalers, to the enterprises in the Philippines, and even supporting cloud for the national government,” he said.
Mr. Locsin added that the company also plans to launch its 15th data center soon.
“There is more to go. Our chairman even challenged us: ‘I want to see the plans for the 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th data center,’ ” he said.
PLDT is in the first phase of sourcing the location for its 12th data center, he said, adding that the company has a shortlist of locations for the plan.
“While we are finishing VITRO Sta. Rosa, we are already in the plans of building our 12th data center because of the demand. The country has become a regional transit hub for Asia and it was confirmed by a lot of our international companies or customers that we work with,” Mr. Locsin said.
The company’s data center arm, ePLDT, Inc., has earlier announced its plan to construct its 11th data center — VITRO Sta. Rosa, which will sit on a five-hectare lot in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.
It previously said that this will have a capacity of about 14 MW by 2024 which can be expanded by up to 50 MW upon full operation.
For its 12th data center, the company is considering either South Luzon or North Luzon, and a capacity of about a hundred megawatts, Mr. Locsin said.
“We do have data centers in Visayas and Mindanao but for the hyperscalers, it will have to be in Luzon,” he said. “It is still undecided. It could be anywhere in the south or in the north.”
At the local bourse on Tuesday, shares in the company fell by P5 or 0.41% to end at P1,210 apiece.
Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Ashley Erika O. Jose
