PLDT targets launch of 11th data center next year

PLDT Inc. expects to launch the first phase of its 11th data center next year, its top official said, as he outlines the listed telecommunications company’s plan to put up more data centers.

“VITRO Sta. Rosa is actually our 11th data center. This is going to be up by the second quarter of 2024. What we are planning now is for our 12th data center,” Victor S. Genuino, president and chief executive officer of ePLDT, Inc. said during the Philippine Digicon 2023 last week.

ePLDT, the data center arm of PLDT, is mainly engaged in digital business solutions and the development of end-to-end technologies for enterprises.

Mr. Genuino said the first phase of the 11th data center is to be launched sometime next year, with its capacity potentially reaching a total of 50-megawatt (MW) load.

ePLDT earlier announced its plan to construct VITRO Sta. Rosa on a five-hectare lot in Sta. Rosa, Laguna. It previously set the capacity by 2024 at about 14 MW, which can be expanded up to 50 MW upon full operation.

“What’s gonna happen next year is we are going to launch the first phase of our data center in the first half of 2024, for the 11th. Then we expect the full data center fit up of 50 MW total load to be finished by the first quarter of 2025,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the event.

For the company’s planned 12th data center, PLDT is aiming to double the expected capacity of its 11th site, Mr.  Genuino said.

“Initially, the capacity that we are looking at is double the existing size that we have. VITRO Sta. Rosa would have a total load of about 50 MW. We are now looking for a site that can generate roughly 100 MW,” he said.

Mr. Genuino said the global average cost, depending on a data center’s geographical location, ranges between $6 million to $9 million per MW.

“What would dictate how much that would be is the geographical terrain of data centers. That is the kind of range we’re looking at. Globally, this is the acceptable standard,” he said.

The company is also considering emerging technologies for its planned data center addition, Mr. Genuino said.

“We need to anticipate and understand where technology is headed. I think next year 2024, 2025 will be a good basis for us to see what we build — do we build a normal data center, do we build a hyperscale data center or do we build a generative AI (artificial intelligence) data center,” he added. — Ashley Erika O. Jose