Open DC, NGX to develop tier-3 data centre in Delapan SBEZ

KUALA LUMPUR, April 14 (Bernama) — Open DC and Northern Gateway Sdn Bhd (NGX) have formed a strategic alliance to develop a Tier-3 data centre in the Delapan Special Border Economic Zone (SBEZ) in Perlis.

For this purpose, Open DC, a telecommunication-hub data centre provider, has inked a master agreement with NGX, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Minister of Finance Incorporated (MOF Inc).

In a statement today, Open DC founder and managing director Wong Weng Yew said the development of the data centre in the high-tech park is expected to further enhance the trading volume by developing cross-border internet traffic.

“We aim to improve the internet development at the northern border, to emulate the existing neighbouring Internet Exchange (IX) via the Malaysia-Singapore border.

“Given the sheer volume of Internet traffic exchanged between Indo-China through this location, the hub will also be developed as a strategic area to become the new commercial hub as well as a data centre in the north,” he said.

The Delapan Special Border Economic Zone was previously known as the Kota Perdana SBEZ in Bukit Kayu Hitam, the border town between Thailand and Malaysia.

By 2025, the trade between Malaysia and Thailand is expected to hit RM125 billion, of which an estimated 45 per cent of the trading amount is through Bukit Kayu Hitam, the statement said.

Echoing this, NGX chief executive office Razwin Sulairee Hasnan Termizi said Delapan will contribute to the development of internet infrastructure as well as the digital and industrial revolution that is intertwined with the local internet ecosystem, complementing both the state and federal digital development blueprint.

The statement noted that the hub is scheduled to be completed by 2024 to open doors for potential collaborations with other regional tech players and private sectors in the industry.

It also said that an IX point will also be set up in this data centre to facilitate the traffic exchange in this region by DE-CIX Malaysia.

DE-CIX Malaysia is an IX operator that brings low latency and high-speed connectivity to underserved areas of the region. — BERNAMA