PLDT completes biggest data center

MANILA, Philippines — Telco-to-tech giant PLDT Inc. has finished the construction of its 11th and largest data center to date, giving it a new facility that can cater to additional demand for information storage.

PLDT Inc.’s data center arm VITRO Inc. yesterday said it has topped off the $350-million VITRO Sta. Rosa in Laguna which covers about five hectares of land and will double the capacity of VITRO by adding 50 megawatts to the network.

VITRO president and CEO Victor Genuino said the facility is certified Rated 3 and looking to be Rated 4 in terms of energy efficiency. Likewise, VITRO Sta. Rosa boasts of a network resilience connected to three fiber routes of telcos, including PLDT.

VITRO Sta. Rosa will also feature the richest internet ecosystem in the Philippines. This means that the facility can handle data storage for critical assets of both public and private sectors.

“VITRO Sta. Rosa is a landmark achievement for PLDT Group and the Philippines, [as] a lot of hyperscalers have already expressed their interest in our facility,” Genuino said.

“Once it is complete, we will continue to build more data center facilities ahead of the demand to anticipate the future requirements of our customers as they accelerate the adoption of cloud and [artificial intelligence] technologies,” he added.

Following the construction of the facility, the next step for VITRO is to energize it, after which it can start welcoming clients to store their data.

PLDT looks to dispose of a 49 percent share in its data centers, valued at more than $1 billion, to a foreign company. The telco will use proceeds from the sale to settle expiring debts and improve its financial health.

PLDT, through VITRO, operates 10 data centers, excluding VITRO Sta. Rosa, with a capacity of 50 MW. The intent is to construct more of these facilities to capture the growing demand for data storage from tech giants like Amazon, Google and Meta.

Data centers like VITRO Sta. Rosa act as warehouses for applications and information generated in the digital space, making them important infrastructure in the era of online transition.

Based on estimates from Structure Research, the data center market has reached $219 million in the Philippines as of 2023, and it is projected to expand by an average of 36 percent yearly until 2028.