Ayala Group, Globe hailed for data center projects

MANILA, Philippines — Information and Communications Technology Secretary Ivan John Uy yesterday hailed the Ayala Group and its telecoms arm Globe Telecom for spearheading the building of data centers in the country.

In his keynote speech at the groundbreaking of the STT Cavite 2 Data Center of the ST Telemedia Global Data Centers (STT GDC) Philippines inside the Gateway Business Park industrial park in General Trias, Cavite, Uy underscored the need for the private sector to step up in addressing the looming gap in data storage demand in the country.

“The nation’s success hinges not solely on its government, but on the active collaboration and participation of its citizens. Today, we are gathered to celebrate another testament to the dynamic partnership of the private and public sectors in achieving a prosperous digital future for Filipinos,” he said.

He noted that the STT Cavite is the second groundbreaking event he attended for the construction of a world-class data center by the STT GDC this year, after the STT Fairview 1 in Quezon City.

“The establishment of the new data center in the Philippines affirms the country’s position as an emerging data center hub in the region,” Uy said. “By 2029, the total expected data center load capacity is set to reach more than 900 megawatts.”

The demand is expected to be sustained, if not grown, due to Filipinos’ social media hyperactivity, according to the department chief.

“Further, with Filipinos still one of the leading social media users in the world, the need for data storage remains present,” he said.

“The nascent data center market in the country is on an upward trajectory with a compound annual growth rate of 13 percent from 2020 to 2025,” he added.

Data centers are a vital cog in the DICT’s push to transform the Philippines into a competitive digital economy, according to Uy.

“These offer secure and efficient infrastructure for storing, managing and processing vast volumes of data which is fundamental to modernizing public services,” he said.

“By enabling high-performance computing, the government will be able to facilitate data-driven decision-making and optimizing resource allocation to enhance public service delivery,” he added.

For STT GDC Philippines president and chief executive officer Carlo Malana, this forward momentum makes the need for robust digital infrastructure and rich network connectivity even more critical, as the Philippines sets its sights on a digital future and rapidly expands its digital capabilities.

“STT GDC Philippines is vested in being a key contributor to building the Philippine digital economy. With the right critical infrastructure in place, businesses can thrive in the digital realm and citizens can reap the benefits of a digital society. All these will drive the nation toward unlocking its full potential, on its way to becoming a regional leader in the digital landscape,” Malana said.

Located just outside the Philippines’ capital region, STT Cavite 2 is in a business park with ready power and network infrastructure. It will be a two-story building with a gross floor area of over 4,500 square meters and can deliver up to six megawatts of total IT capacity.

Additionally, the facility is connected to two different power substations.

The data center will be designed and operated to meet the TIA-942 Certification Rated-3, which covers telecommunications infrastructure and other aspects of a mission-critical data center, such as the site location, architectural and physical structure of the building, electrical and mechanical infrastructure and fire safety and physical security.

STT Cavite 2 will include ready network connections to STT Makati, one of the most interconnected data centers in the Philippines, providing customers of STT Cavite 2 with immediate access to a rich selection of local and international network service providers, internet exchanges and submarine cable systems.

Set to begin operations in mid-2025, STT Cavite 2 is STT GDC Philippines’ second major build this year, following the groundbreaking on the STT Fairview data center campus, and is slated to become the largest, most interconnected, sustainable and carrier-neutral data center campus in the country with a total capacity of 124 MW upon completion.

STT GDC Philippines is a joint venture between Globe, Ayala Corp. and Singapore-based ST Telemedia Global Data Centers. It stands as the Globe Group’s investment into the digital future of the Philippines and the region.

Philippines-UK MOU

Meanwhile, the Philippines and the United Kingdom look forward to the finalization of memoranda of understanding (MOU) on defense cooperation and on cyber security, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday.

Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for bilateral relations and Association of Southeast Asian Nations Affairs Ma. Theresa Lazaro co-chaired the inaugural strategic dialogue between the Philippines and the UK with UK Minister of State for Indo-Pacific Anne-Marie Trevelyan MP last Wednesday.

The DFA said the two co-chairs looked forward to the finalization of the MOU, reflecting the momentum generated by the enhanced partnership and adding further value to the ever-growing strategic engagements between the countries.

The strategic dialogue was established to set strategic policy directions under the Philippine-UK Enhanced Partnership, underpinned by the two countries’ shared respect for democracy, freedom and the rule of law and their commitment to upholding a rules-based international order.

It also caps a highly productive year of thematic bilateral meetings on political, maritime, defense, economic and climate and environment cooperation.

Lazaro expressed her appreciation to Trevelyan for hosting the inaugural strategic dialogue, held a few months after the visit of British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly to Manila on last Aug. 29.

Both Lazaro and Trevelyan agreed that the conduct of the strategic dialogue is timely in view of the rapidly evolving geostrategic landscape in both Europe and the Indo-Pacific.

The strategic dialogue encouraged closer political, economic, maritime and sectoral cooperation, acknowledging the importance of a multifaceted approach to enhancing relations.

Both sides also welcomed closer economic cooperation, having identified ways to encourage even stronger bilateral trade and investment ties.

In terms of investments, the UK has the distinction of being a top source of investments in the Philippines, with potential to increase even further through the launch of the British Investment Partnerships in the country this year.

The Philippine and British delegations also discussed sectoral cooperation in democracy and peace, human rights, consular affairs, climate change and the environment, science and technology including artificial intelligence and cyber security, and people-to-people exchanges.

They exchanged views on regional and international issues, particularly on geopolitical developments in the Indo-Pacific, West Philippine Sea, the Middle East and Ukraine. — Pia Lee-Brago