Equinix to build USD $190 million Kuala Lumpur data centre

Equinix plans to build a new data centre in Kuala Lumpur, investing more than USD $190 million in the project.

The new facility, known as KL2, will be located in Cyberjaya, less than one kilometre from the company's existing KL1 site. When fully built out, it is expected to provide more than 2,200 cabinets.

KL2 will be Equinix's fourth data centre in Malaysia. The group already operates in Kuala Lumpur and is also investing in Johor through its JH1 site and upcoming JH2 facility.

The expansion comes as Malaysia seeks to strengthen its position as a regional base for digital and artificial intelligence activity in ASEAN. Demand for data centre capacity has risen across cloud services, AI workloads and enterprise computing, while operators and customers increasingly link infrastructure across multiple markets rather than treating each location separately.

That shift is already visible at Equinix's existing Cyberjaya site. More than two-thirds of KL1 customers operate across multiple metropolitan markets, according to company data, spanning Kuala Lumpur, Johor and Singapore.

Regional role

KL2 is intended to support digital-native businesses, hyperscalers and multinational companies expanding their regional operations. The site will also connect into Equinix's wider footprint in Kuala Lumpur, Johor and Singapore through Equinix Fabric.

The facility is being designed to meet a range of customer requirements, from retail enterprise deployments to large-footprint installations and high-density workloads. A substantial portion of the site's capacity will support liquid cooling systems for AI and high-performance computing use.

The project also includes room for further growth. Equinix has secured adjacent land for future expansion, giving it scope to add more infrastructure in Kuala Lumpur as demand develops.

Malaysia has become an increasingly important market for data centre operators and cloud providers, helped by government efforts to attract digital investment and build local AI infrastructure. Cyberjaya and Johor have emerged as two of the main focal points for that build-out, with Johor also benefiting from its proximity to Singapore.

Equinix operates more than 280 data centres in 77 markets across 36 countries. In Asia-Pacific, its portfolio includes 65 sites across Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore.

Cheam Tat Inn, Managing Director, Malaysia, Equinix, described the investment as a milestone for the company in the country.

"This expansion marks an important milestone in our journey to elevate Malaysia's digital economy. By providing AI-ready infrastructure in Kuala Lumpur and Johor responsibly, we are directly supporting national agendas to advance the country's AI ambitions. KL2 will not only enable businesses to process data closer to the source and deploy Distributed AI with agility, but it will also drive high-value job creation and build long-term economic resilience for the nation," he said.

Efficiency plans

The site is being developed with operational efficiency in mind and is targeting 100% renewable energy coverage from the first day of operations. That target aligns with Equinix's broader goal of achieving full renewable energy coverage across its retail IBX footprint by 2030.

It is also being engineered in line with industry commitments under the Asia-Pacific Data Centre Association's Sustainable Digital Infrastructure Accord. The development is expected to expand interconnection options through a broader network of local and regional carriers and service providers in Malaysia.

With KL2, Equinix is adding capacity in a market where customers are increasingly building regional infrastructure architectures across ASEAN. The latest investment deepens its presence in one of Malaysia's key data centre clusters while linking that footprint more closely with Johor and Singapore.