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Cushman & Wakefield estimates that the APAC region will require more than $280 billion in cumulative data center construction capex between 2026 and 2030
In sum – what to know:
Demand continues to outrun supply – APAC added 2,200MW of operational capacity, yet vacancy tightened to 10.3%, while the colocation pipeline reached 22.7GW.
Power and pre-leasing are reshaping development – Power constraints and longer project timelines are pushing customers to secure capacity earlier, with 7.8GW already pre-leased.
Capital is becoming more selective – More than $280 billion of capex is required through 2030, while investors increasingly prioritize contracted demand, scalable power and adaptable, AI-ready assets.
Asia Pacific’s data center market is moving from a high-growth sector toward a critical infrastructure asset class, with AI adoption, cloud expansion, digital sovereignty, and persistent infrastructure deficits driving a multi-year investment cycle, according to Cushman & Wakefield’s 2026 Asia Pacific Data Center Investment Landscape.
The report stated that the APAC region added more than 2,200MW of operational capacity since the previous edition of the report, but vacancy tightened from 11.0% to 10.3%, indicating that demand continues to outpace supply. At the same time, the colocation development pipeline expanded by more than 8,200MW to a record 22,745MW, with colocation operators accounting for 86% of planned capacity. Operational capacity across Asia Pacific is projected to more than double by 2030.
The supply-demand imbalance is particularly pronounced in several emerging markets. Vietnam, the Philippines, India, Indonesia, and Thailand have more than 200,000 people per MW of operational capacity, while Vietnam reaches 1.4 million people per MW, the Philippines 1.1 million, India 825,000, Indonesia 616,000, and Thailand 515,000. The report says these markets remain comparatively underpenetrated and point to substantial capacity expansion potential.
As AI and cloud adoption outpace new supply, hyperscalers and enterprises are increasingly securing capacity years ahead through pre-leasing. Pre-leasing demand increased 115% year on year, with more than 7.8GW of pipeline capacity already secured. Australia, Malaysia, India, and Japan remain the main engines of expansion, while Indonesia and Thailand recorded the strongest year-on-year growth in pre-leasing activity.
Power availability has become the primary development constraint across many markets. The report notes that access to future power capacity can be more important than access to the facility itself, while land, permitting, and supply-chain challenges are extending development timelines. AI workloads are also increasing power density and cooling requirements, strengthening demand for purpose-built facilities.
Cushman & Wakefield estimates that Asia Pacific will require more than $280 billion in cumulative data center construction capex between 2026 and 2030. Five markets account for 77% of that requirement, while Japan alone represents about 25%. Average development costs across the region are estimated at $10.7 million per MW, including land.
AI is also changing the investment equation. AI-ready facilities using liquid cooling typically require 25% to 35% higher capex than traditional air-cooled data centers. Rapid changes in GPU technology are affecting power, cooling, rack density, and building requirements, increasing the importance of flexibility, modularity and future-proofing.
The report says capital is increasingly flowing toward projects with secured long-term contracts, scalable power access, and adaptable infrastructure. Customer requirements are also diverging, with hyperscale cloud and AI providers adopting different infrastructure standards and creating greater demand for customized facilities.
The region’s operational data center assets are projected to surpass $950 billion in value by 2030, while annual colocation rental revenue is forecast to exceed $66 billion. Japan, Australia, Malaysia, India, and Mainland China are expected to account for 71% of regional colocation rent revenue.
The report concludes that the physical development cycle has lengthened because of power, water, fiber, and permitting constraints, while the capital cycle has compressed, driven largely by the rise of pre-leasing. With lenders continuing to show strong appetite for the sector, Asia Pacific remains positioned to attract additional global capital as its data center infrastructure expands.
