Digital Realty has announced the acquisition of land on a long-term ground lease to develop Digital Loyang II (SIN12) data centre in Singapore, the company's third facility in the high-growth market.

The acquired land parcel totals 12,800 square metres and is adjacent to Digital Realty's second Singapore facility — Digital Loyang I (SIN11), located at Loyang Drive on the east side of Singapore. The new Digital Loyang II (SIN12) Singapore data centre is expected to be fully operational by the third quarter of 2020, marking a significant expansion and further development of the Digital Realty Loyang connected campus. 

Trusted foundation to power current and future customers' digital ambitions
The new data centre in Loyang Drive will be located less than 25 kilometres from Singapore's central business district and will provide up to 50 megawatts (MW) of critical power capacity to regional and global customers. The multi-story facility will offer a total footprint of 34,000 square metres and will ultimately broaden opportunities for more international companies to expand their core digital assets into the key Singapore market. 

Both the existing SIN11 and planned SIN12 facilities are strategically located close to the Changi North Cable landing station, a key sub-sea internet landing station for the region. Digital Realty already enjoys a relationship with Singapore Internet Exchange (SGIX) to provide local peering at Digital Realty's Singapore data centre facilities in Jurong West (SIN10) and Loyang East (SIN11). Customers in both facilities benefit from this relationship through greater and more cost-effective connectivity options. These peering points on both ends of the island enhance the overall resiliency of the peering solution ecosystem in Singapore. 

"Digital transformation is set to contribute US$10 billion to Singapore's gross domestic product (GDP) by 2021," said Mark Smith, managing director, APAC for Digital Realty. "With leading global technology companies increasingly looking to expand their digital footprint in Singapore, there is a significant opportunity for leading infrastructure providers like Digital Realty to provide the trusted foundation for the nation's technology landscape. Our customers are constantly investing in digital services to transform their businesses, and we remain committed to supporting them through these transformations." 

"By leveraging Digital Realty's global ecosystem, SIN12 customers will have access to a carrier-neutral operating environment, consisting of a world-class range of telco providers, service providers and business partners. The increased speed and connectivity of the global Digital Realty platform aims to provide low latency and highly reliable uptime for our customers," added Smith.

Reinforcing Singapore as a key global interconnected hub
Data centres represent the backbone of the IT sector and remain crucial to achieving Singapore's ambition to become a fully digital economy and support the rapid digital transformation of Southeast Asia. Singapore's connectivity to major markets in the region, strong network infrastructure, conducive business environment and political stability are among of the top reasons international and local operators continue to seek data centre growth in the region. 

"We are excited to expand our platform in Singapore and to continue building upon our relationships and ecosystem in this core financial and colocation hub," said A. William Stein, chief executive officer, Digital Realty. "With the addition of SIN12 to our Loyang connected campus, customers will soon have new ways to connect, extend their reach and find new business opportunities through our global data centre platform. Singapore has traditionally been a key hub for our global footprint, and given its robust existing infrastructure and strong support for digital transformation, it remains a leading destination for customers from around the world," added Stein. 

The construction and management of a data centre will also provide a wide array of job opportunities from development to the ongoing operations of the future facility. As economic magnets, data centres have often been able to create significant opportunities and returns on investment for their customers, owners and countries in which they operate. 

Prioritizing a sustainable digital ecosystem
Sustainability is a critical feature of the design and construction of the new SIN12 data centre. Digital Realty expects to pursue BCA Green Mark certification for the new facility, demonstrating the company's commitment to industry-leading sustainable design standards and building upon the established track record of its award-winning Digital Jurong West (SIN10) and Digital Loyang I (SIN11) facilities. The new facility is expected to use indirect evaporative cooling to reduce power usage effectiveness (PUE) to between 1.2 to 1.3, with the goal of achieving the most competitive PUE for a commercial data centre in Singapore. Efficient cooling system design and controls aim to minimize evaporation losses, which will improve water-use efficiency to well below the average rating for data centres in Singapore. These sustainable design features are expected to generate significant benefits such as reduced pollution, noise attenuation and an increase in overall space optimization, all of which can be critical factors when developing on the island city-state.