Alpha Data Centre Fund (Alpha DC Fund), through its wholly-owned subsidiary, has entered into an agreement to acquire 100% shareholding interest in Huizhou Bike Property Co Limited, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Country Garden Holdings Co Ltd. Huizhou Bike will own a greenfield data centre development strategically located in the Tonghu Smart City in Huizhou, Guangdong Province, China.
Alpha DC Fund, which is managed by Alpha Investment Partners Limited (Alpha), will invest approximately RMB 1.5 billion to acquire Huizhou Bike and to develop the data centre. Country Garden, one of China’s leading property developers, will leverage the technical capabilities and experience of Keppel Data Centres and undertake the construction of the core and shell of the data centre.
Keppel Data Centres also said the company will collaborate with local data centre operator, Shenzhen Huateng Smart Technology Co Ltd, to implement global best practices for data centre operations in this new facility.
When fully developed, the new data centre in Huizhou will fit more than 6,000 high-density racks and have China Data Centre Class A GB-standard equivalent specifications. With an expected gross floor area (GFA) of 486,700 sq ft, the facility will be developed in two phases, with completion expected in 2021 and 2022 respectively. In addition, the data centre site has the potential to build up another 538,200 sq ft to its GFA, which would bring the total GFA to approximately 1,024,900 sq ft.
China is reportedly pushing ahead in its New Infrastructure campaign, which focuses on information-based, converged and innovative infrastructure. “China expects a total of more than US$3.78 trillion in new infrastructure construction and related investments over the next five years, according to Haitong Securities. In a recent publication by Guangdong Province detailing its 2021-2025 plans for 5G base stations and data centres, Huizhou was listed as one of its six key cities for super and large-scale data centre developments,” explained Keppel Data Centres.
Located in Huizhou, in close proximity to Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Dongguan, this upcoming data centre is strategically aligned with the Chinese government’s drive for New Infrastructure projects in the Greater Bay Area, and will add to the vibrancy of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Macao Science & Technology Innovation Corridor.
Wong Wai Meng, CEO of Keppel Data Centres said, “Keppel Data Centres’ collaboration with Country Garden, and local data centre operator, Huateng Co, will allow us to strengthen our local network and know-how. Coupled with our extensive experience in developing and operating data centres globally, this collaboration will allow us to deliver a safe, reliable and high specification data centre facility for customers in the Greater Bay Area. The project will also contribute to the upgrading of information infrastructure and economic development in Huizhou.”
Image: Keppel Corporation
