Open DC to build data center in northern Malaysia

Malaysian data center firm Open DC is partnering with the Malaysian government to build a data center in the north of the country.

The Minister of Finance Inc’s (MOF Inc) wholly-owned subsidiary, Northern Gateway Sdn Bhd (NGX), has partnered with Open DC to develop a data center in the Delapan Special Border Economic Zone in the Malaysian state of Perlis.

Details around data center specifications were not shared, though it is expected to meet Tier III standards. The announcement notes the connectivity hub is scheduled for completion by 2024; an IX point will also be set up in this data center to facilitate the traffic exchange in this region by DE-CIX Malaysia.

The Delapan Special Border Economic Zone (previously known as the Kota Perdana SBEZ) is a high-tech park at Bukit Kayu Hitam, the border town between Thailand and Malaysia.

“We aim to improve the Internet development at the northern border, to emulate the existing neighboring Internet Exchange (IX) via the Malaysia-Singapore border,” said Open DC founder and managing director Wong Weng Yew. “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 center in the north.”

NGX CEO Razwin Sulairee Hasnan Termizi added: “The data center will be a channel to connect friends and family, businesses and customers, and most importantly, it connects Delapan with the world,” he said.

Open DC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Extreme Broadband founded in 2017, operates four data centers; one each in Cyberjaya and Penang and two in Johor totaling around 67,000 sq ft (6,200 sq m) altogether. – Data Center Dynamics