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Nxera said that the first phase of the project, expected to deliver 64MW of capacity, is scheduled to go live in 2026
In sum – what to know:
Construction milestone – Nxera and Telekom Malaysia have completed the structural phase of a new AI-focused data center in Johor.
Capacity expansion – The first 64MW phase is due online in 2026 as part of a 280MW campus.
Regional shift – Johor is gaining importance as a data center hub as demand spills over from Singapore.
Singaporean carrier Singtel’s data center arm Nxera and Telekom Malaysia have reached a key construction milestone in their joint AI-focused data center project in Johor, Malaysia, with the facility now structurally complete.
Nxera CEO Bill Chang confirmed in a LinkedIn post the topping-out of the site, highlighting steady progress in delivering what he described as a large-scale AI data center designed to support high-performance workloads. The project is being developed under TM Nxera, a joint venture between Nxera and Telekom Malaysia.
In a statement, TM Nxera said the milestone reflects the completion of the structural phase and marks a step forward toward bringing the facility into operation.
The data center is being built as part of a larger 280MW campus. Its first phase, expected to deliver 64MW of capacity, is scheduled to go live in 2026. Construction on the project began in mid-2024, shortly after the plans were announced.
The development is part of Nxera’s broader regional expansion strategy. The company, which operates facilities in Singapore, is building additional data centers across Southeast Asia in collaboration with local partners. It aims to increase its total capacity from around 200MW to 400MW in the coming years, with new facilities in Johor and Batam expected to come online in the second half of 2026.
Johor has emerged as a key data center hub in Southeast Asia, benefiting from its proximity to Singapore. As capacity constraints and regulatory limits have slowed new developments in Singapore, operators have increasingly turned to Johor as an alternative location for large-scale projects.
The expansion of Nxera’s footprint has also been supported by external investment. In 2023, KKR acquired a 20% stake in Singtel’s data center business for $800 million. More recently, KKR and Singtel took a majority stake in STT GDC, further strengthening their position in the Asia-Pacific data center market.
Chang recently told RCR Wireless News that strong demand for AI-ready infrastructure helped drive early commitments at Nxera’s new DC Tuas facility in Singapore, with more than 90% of its capacity secured before the site officially opened.
According to Chang, the facility was designed to support a wide range of computing needs, including traditional enterprise applications as well as more demanding AI and high-performance computing deployments.
“DC Tuas is purpose-built to be able to support a broad spectrum of workloads – from conventional enterprise and cloud applications to next-generation AI and high-performance computing,” Chang said.
