Chindata will build a 1.2GW cluster in Ningxia, north-central China.

The cluster, supported by a RMB 24bn (USD$3.3bn) investment, will consist of three data centers located in Zhongwei, a city next to the Tengger Desert. Chindata claims that the facilities will be carbon-neutral.

Development timelines, the proposed size of the facilities, and the exact location of the cluster were not shared.

In a LinkedIn post, the company cited Zhongwei’s “exceptional location advantages, stable power supply, and strong government support” as factors informing their decision to establish a cluster there.

Beijing’s “Eastern Data and Western Computing” initiative, launched in 2022, intends to leverage abundant energy in its western provinces to process data produced in the economically dominant east.

This will be Chindata’s third cluster attributable to this initiative, following deployments in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and Gansu, a neighbouring province bordering Mongolia.

Chindata is owned by Bain Capital, a private investment firm. It operates more than 17 data centers across China, Malaysia, India, and Thailand, with its non-Chinese facilities operated by subsidiary Bridge Data Centres.

Its Chinese hyperscale facilities include sites in Greater Beijing, the Yangtze River Delta around Shanghai, and the Greater Bay Area in the country’s south.

In November 2024, the company was considering a $2.8bn loan to fund its expansion plans in Malaysia.