Equinix has announced the second phrase expansion of its SG3 data center in Singapore, less than half a year after its grand opening earlier this year. The completion of phase two will allow for an additional 2,000 cabinets, raising SG3’s total operational capacity to 3,000 cabinets.

According to Equinix, the second phase shows its continued commitment to the region, where demand for data center services from cloud and financial sectors is growing. The second phase is expected to cost $54 million, and when completed will bring Equinix’s total investment in Singapore to over $350m.

The rapid development of SG3 is notable, considering that it is already Equinix’s largest data center in the Asia-Pacific region. With a gross floor area of 385,000 square feet (35,700 sq m), the purpose-built facility could have a total of 5,000 cabinets when fully built-up.

Equinix SG3
Equinix SG3

High interconnection rate

Data center space aside, Equinix says data centers in Singapore have a high interconnection rate with more than 12,200 interconnections between businesses in the country alone. This number can only go up, given that SG3 is located right next to the existing SG1 data center at Ayer Rajah Crescent, where they are directly connected via a dedicated fiber network.

The latter serves a substantial number of carriers and is Singapore’s most network-dense data center. This means that the second phase expansion of SG3 will hence provide increased data center capacity and network opportunities for new companies that also want to gain direct access to SG1.

“Singapore is en-route to becoming a Smart Nation, integrating all aspects of technology into a coherent and cohesive whole to improve the way people live, work and play,” said Clement Goh, managing director, Equinix South Asia in a statement.

“We hope to support Singapore’s vision by providing our customers with direct access to established business ecosystems. Increasingly companies see great potential in multi-cloud access and the importance of a strong, reliable, yet flexible solution,” he said.