Data center capacity seen at 18 GW within 10 years

THE Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said data center capacity in the Philippines could hit 18 gigawatts (GW) in the next 10 years.

“So 1.5 GW is the commitment (by 2028) but actually our plan is that in the next 10 years to have 18 GW data centers’ capacity and we also plan to export that,” ICT Secretary Henry Rhoel R. Aguda told reporters on the sidelines of  Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Editors and Economic Opinion Leaders Forum on Tuesday.

Data center capacity is typically measured in the power available to run servers and cooling and is the main constraint on performance and scalability.

Mr. Aguda said the Philippines hopes to computing capacities to ASEAN countries first then eventually to the Middle East and the US.

Currently, Philippine data center capacity is at 200 megawatts (MW), he said, adding that by year’s end it could hit 1 GW.

The DICT has said that the growth of data center capacity in the Philippines will be driven by more operators setting up facilities or increasing their current capacities.

“We welcome the DICT’s push to expand the country’s data center capacity to 1 GW and eventually 18 GW but this must deliver direct benefits to Filipino consumers and MSMEs, not just serve foreign hyperscalers,” Ronald B. Gustilo, national campaigner for the Digital Pinoys advocacy, said via Viber.

The increased capacity should translate to lower latency, more affordable cloud services, better platform reliability, and stronger data protection, he said. 

The Philippines is experiencing strong demand for cloud, fintech, e-commerce and AI services, the DICT has said, noting the country’s strategic geographic position, growing pool of digital talent and government initiatives to improve broadband infrastructure. — Ashley Erika O. Jose