SINGAPORE — Keppel Data Centre Fund II LP (KDCF II) entered into a strategic partnership with Heying, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tianjin Zhengxin Group Co. Ltd to jointly develop a greenfield data center in Greater Beijing, China. This latest development marks Keppel’s sixth project since entering mainland China’s data center market in 2020.
KDCF II, managed by Alpha Investment Partners Ltd., which is the private fund management arm of Keppel Capital, will acquire a majority stake in Huailai Data Centre and jointly develop the property with Heying. The total development cost of the project is approximately $292 million. In addition, Keppel will collaborate with Heying to implement global best practices for data center operations at Huailai.
Located in Huailai County, Hebei Province, Huailai Data Centre is situated on a 3.3-hectare (ha) land plot that forms part of a larger data center campus spanning 29.7 ha. The campus is 65 km from Beijing Central and 70 km from Beijing Capital International Airport.
Development of Huailai Data Centre is taking place in phases. When fully developed by the end of the first quarter (Q1) of 2023, Huailai Data Centre will have an expected gross floor area (GFA) of 678,807 square feet, which can fit more than 5,700 high-density racks and will hold the China Data Center Class A GB-standard equivalent specifications. Huailai Data Centre has received strong indication of interest from a major cloud service provider in China.
In line with Keppel’s Vision 2030, which puts sustainability at the heart of its strategy, Huailai Data Centre will be fitted with indirect evaporative cooling (IDEC) systems, which work by using evaporating water to cool airstreams and maintain humidity. This method consumes 50% less energy compared to traditional chilled water systems.
“We are pleased to partner with Heying to enter into one of China’s largest data center hubs,” said Alvin Mah, CEO of Alpha. “Demand for data centers in China has been resilient, attracting strong investor interest. Keppel Data Centre Fund II LP is well-positioned to seize investment opportunities in this growing sector as we are able to collaborate with the wider Keppel Group to provide robust and reliable data center solutions. We will continue to add more quality assets in key global markets to the fund’s portfolio that will deliver optimal risk adjusted returns to our investors.”
“Keppel Data Centres’ strategy to work with strong experienced partners and in collaboration with Keppel Capital, enables us to harness synergies and scale up swiftly in developing and operating high-quality data centers in our key growth markets,” said Wong Wai Meng, CEO of Keppel Data Centres. “This has helped place Keppel Data Centres in pole position to meet the requirements of cloud service providers, hyperscalers, and technology firms in one of the world’s fastest growing markets, building on our strong data center development and operational track record.”
In April 2022, Keppel also celebrated another milestone in China, with the official opening of Huizhou Data Centre, a greenfield data center located in the Tonghu Smart City in Huizhou, Guangdong Province.
With a total GFA of 486,700 square feet, the facility offers more than 6,000 high-density racks and has the potential to build up another 538,200 square feet to its GFA, which would bring the total to approximately 1,024,900 square feet for further upside development. Huizhou Data Centre has already engaged a major telecommunications company as an anchor customer and has been receiving strong capacity demand from customers comprising major cloud operators, telecommunication firms, and technology companies.
Separately, Keppel also expects its Greater Shanghai Data Centre under KDCF II to be ready for service by Q1 2023. It holds up to 3,000 racks with a total GFA of 323,684 square feet and is fitted with liquid cooling technologies catering mainly to financial and banking customers.
