APAC new data centre projects hit 13GW in H1

This represents a massive growth of 160%.

Knight Frank’s Asia-Pacific Data Centre report shows that in the first half of this year, the region secured nearly 13GW of new project announcements, a 160% increase and more than double the 5GW announced in the same period last year. The funding needed for these projects already exceeds US$180 billion.

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Major technology firms are driving much of this investment. Amazon is projected to exceed US$100 billion in capital expenditure for 2025, up from about US$82 billion last year, while Microsoft invested US$55 billion in 2024 and has committed more than US$33 billion this year. Collectively, Microsoft, AWS, Google, and Meta have committed over US$160 billion in 2025 alone, reflecting the intensity and scale of current infrastructure development.

Fred Fitzalan, head of data centres Asia-Pacific, Knight Frank says, “The sheer volume of new projects in the region highlights just how important the region has become in the global digital infrastructure landscape. However, coordinating this rapid growth is a complex challenge, as operators must keep pace with technological advances and rising energy needs, all while ensuring new facilities are delivered in step with evolving demands."

Alongside the hyperscalers, GPU-as-a-Service providers are expanding rapidly, seeking multi-megawatt capacity across the region and bringing greater diversity into leasing conversations. Creditworthiness and shortened deployment timelines remain perennial challenges, but innovative guarantee structures enable some operators to compete effectively for new contracts.

Fred adds, "What has become clear is the strict requirement for operators to design facilities with capacity that can be flexibly deployed for either Cloud or AI workloads, offering tenants maximum optionality. While this adds cost, it is now a decisive factor in site selection. Locations that combine proximity to parent sites with sufficient power allocations to support long-term runway are winning. However, this remains a significant challenge given national grid constraints and permitting delays in Tier 1 APAC markets."

Investment evolution
The funding landscape is evolving, with infrastructure and private equity capital increasingly partnering with operators on developer-led powered shells to achieve faster time-to-power deployment.

Looking ahead, grid capacity and power availability remain major constraints, with geopolitical considerations shaping project delivery timelines. Despite these challenges, momentum remains strong. Cloud providers in the US and China now often compete for the same capacity, driving up rental values, particularly in North Asia.

Additionally, the AI ecosystem continues to expand beyond traditional hyperscale deployments. The task ahead is to synchronise these vast expansions with technology evolution and energy demand, building digital infrastructure that is both flexible and future-ready.