PLDT beefing up data center portfolio by 500 MW
PLDT. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — PLDT Inc. aims to build its biggest data center by next year, in line with the goal of scaling up capacity by up to 500 megawatts (MW) amid the growing demand from hyperscalers and artificial intelligence (AI).
Victor Genuino, president and CEO of PLDT’s data center arm ePLDT, told this to reporters in Laguna on Wednesday.
Genuino said they would finalize the detailed blueprint this year for the 12th data hub. It is designed to have up to 100-MW capacity.
He said construction usually takes two years, which means the facility that houses critical servers and IT networks could be completed by 2028.
PLDT chair Manuel Pangilinan said the data center would rise in a 20-hectare (ha) property in General Trias, Cavite. However, only half of this would be occupied.
Pangilinan said the facility would be built in five phases of 20 MW each. It would then be scaled up as more clients come in.
The facility is estimated to cost P40 billion. That is twice as much as the investment for PLDT’s 11th data center, Vitro Sta. Rosa (VSR).
Multiple sites
Pangilinan said it was crucial to build multiple data center locations as clients require several storage spots for redundancy.
On Wednesday, PLDT officials and President Marcos inaugurated VSR, which has been in operation since July last year.
The Laguna data center has data cabinets that can power up to 17 kilowatts. This is the minimum requirement to support an AI workload. A data cabinet stores hardware like servers, routers and modems.
READ: PLDT unit builds up AI-ready data centers
The VSR has a 50-MW capacity with 18 data halls. Two of them are currently fully occupied, which carry 2 MW each.
In comparison, a data hall consumes power equivalent to energy use by hotels like Edsa Shangri-La and Grand Hyatt, Genuino said.
PLDT, in total, has 11 data centers with a capacity of up to 100 MW.
“We do intend to expand our data center capability for up to 500 MW. We have to be at least equal to the capacity of Malaysia,” Pangilinan said.
