International colocation giant Equinix opened doors of its second data center in Singapore on Wednesday. The new International Business Exchange is in the Western part of the island. Singapore is an important strategic market for the company, Equinix CEO Steve Smith said in a statement, and SG1 (the company's first Singapore facility) is close to being full.

First phase of the new facility adds capacity for 700 cabinet equivalents to the company's South Asian portfolio. Equinix invested $45 million in the build. Second phase is currently being designed and once it is complete, the 110,000-square-foot facility will be fully built out, housing 1,700 cabinet equivalents. Phase 2 construction is expected to start in the second quarter of 2010.

Equinix said it is expanding in Singapore because of growing demand from its existing clientele, including carriers, content providers and enterprises. The facility is located close to a key submarine cable landing station, allowing the firm to grow its peering business. The statement did not specify which cable it was referring to.

Fourth and final phase of the first Singapore data center was opened in the previous quarter. The firm's other most recent moves in the Asia-Pacific region include opening of a second data center in Sydney, Australia, and an upcoming completion of a fourth-phase expansion of a data center in Hong Kong.

In April Equinix launched a new IT development center in Singapore. The center provides application-development support, database management and technical support for the company's entire global operation. The company staffed the center locally, planning to double the amount of Equinix employees working in the region.

Equinix operates more than 40 data centers in North America, Europe and in Asia-Pacific.