Keppel to co-develop green field data centre in Beijing
Keppel Corporation, through its Data Centre Fund II LP (KDCF II), will be developing Huailai Data Centre in Greater Beijing, China into a greenfield data centre.
It will jointly develop the asset with Heying, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tianjin Zhengxin Group Co, and will be Keppel's sixth project in China’s data centre market since entering it in 2020.
Located in Huailai County, Hebei Province, the Huailai Data Centre is situated on a 3.3-hectare land plot that forms part of a larger data centre campus spanning 29.7 hectares.
KDCF II is managed by Alpha Investment Partners Limited (Alpha), which is the private fund management arm of Keppel Capital. Alvin Mah, CEO of Alpha, said: “We are pleased to partner with Heying to enter into one of China’s largest data centre hubs. Demand for data centres in China has been resilient, attracting strong investor interest. Keppel Data Centre Fund II LP is well-positioned to seize investment opportunities in this growing sector as we are able to collaborate with the wider Keppel Group to provide robust and reliable data centre solutions. We will continue to add more quality assets in key global markets to the Fund’s portfolio that will deliver optimal risk adjusted returns to our investors.”
Building a strong data centre development
In line with Keppel’s Vision 2030, which puts sustainability at the heart of its strategy, Huailai Data Centre will be fitted with indirect evaporative cooling (IDEC) systems, which work by using evaporating water to cool airstreams and maintain humidity. This method consumes 50% less energy compared to traditional chilled water systems.
Wong Wai Meng, CEO of Keppel Data Centres, said, “Keppel Data Centres’ strategy to work with strong experienced partners and in collaboration with Keppel Capital, enables us to harness synergies and scale up swiftly in developing and operating high quality data centres in our key growth markets. This has helped place Keppel Data Centres in pole position to meet the requirements of cloud service providers, hyperscalers and technology firms in one of the world’s fastest growing markets, building on our strong data centre development and operational track record.”
In April 2022, Keppel also celebrated another milestone in China, with the official opening of Huizhou Data Centre, a greenfield data centre located in the Tonghu Smart City in Huizhou, Guangdong Province. Keppel also expects its Greater Shanghai Data Centre under KDCF II to be ready for service by Q1 2023.
