NTT has acquired a plot of land in Johor, Malaysia, for a data center.
Tropicana Firstwide Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tropicana Corporation Berhad this week announced a sale and purchase agreement with the indirect subsidiaries of NTT Data Group for the sale of freehold land in Gelang Patah, Johor Bahru.
The 68.457-acre plot was acquired for a cash consideration of RM383 million ($88.5m).
In a statement, Tropicana said: “Johor has attracted more than 50 data centers within the last two years thanks to its strong push towards the digital economy, enabled by robust government policies, as well as good connectivity and infrastructure. Johor is experiencing an exciting time and the rapid growth in the digital industry suggests that it is well on its way to becoming a new data centre hub in South-East Asia. To this note, we are thrilled to enter into this sale & purchase agreement with NTT Data Group.”
Founded in 1979, Tropicana is a real estate conglomerate focused on property development and management, property investment, recreation and resorts, investment holdings, and more.
Tropicana said it has a landbank of 728 acres in Johor and will continue to build townships as well as look for strategic partners to jointly develop the land. The firm plans to develop two townships, Lido Waterfront Boulevard in Johor City Centre and Tropicana Uplands in Gelang Patah.
NTT currently lists three Malaysian facilities outside Kuala Lumpur in Cyberjaya – CBJ4, 5, and 6 – on its website.
The company launched CBJ6 last year. The facility offers 7MW across 4,890 sqm (52,635 sq ft) and densities of up to 15kW per rack. NTT expanded the 2.7MW Cyberjaya 4 in 2018 and began work on Cyberjaya 5 in 2019. CBJ3, listed in a brochure, offers 516 racks. No longer listed, CBJ1 previously offered 335 racks, while CBJ2 has also seemingly closed.
Located in Malaysia’s south, Johor is just across the border from Singapore. Though Singapore is starting to ease restrictions around its ongoing moratorium on new data center developments, Johor has grown a sizeable data center market of its own as developments overspill from the city-state. Other developers and operators in Johor include PDG, AirTrunk, Equinix, Keppel, ChinData's Bridge DC, and Yondr.