The region redefining the data centre market

Asia-Pacific (APAC) now has more data centre capacity under development than Europe and is catching up to the US. The region already hosts 12.7GW of operational power, with 3.2GW being built, and 13.3GW in planning. By 2026, its total capacity is expected to exceed 17 GW. That shift places APAC at the centre of the global digital economy and creates one of the most complex infrastructure challenges of the last decade.  

Much of this acceleration is driven by the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence (AI), national digitalisation programmes, and the sheer scale of the region's user base. But as demand rises, the pressure on utilities, planning systems, and local infrastructure becomes tough to ignore. Whether the market can grow is no longer the question. The challenge is whether the supporting systems and designs can keep pace. For investors and international operators, the next phase of APAC's development will require global experience applied with local precision.  

The market drivers of APAC's boom

APAC's growth is not unexpected. Many of the major economies in the region are undergoing a shift towards digitalisation, be this cloud, digital public services, or moving into data-rich industries like social media and AI. Government programmes across India, Singapore, Japan, Australia, and Southeast Asia are also moving faster than most of the world to smart cities. These involve implementing Internet of Things (IoT) devices across the city, including transport systems and public infrastructure, which all rely on data centres. Each of these initiatives feeds directly into the need for more resilient compute.  

In recent history, AI has become the dominant factor. In the 2010s, typical data centre racks operated at 6-10kW. Today, AI workloads routinely require 30-100kW, and in fact, the latest Nvidia Blackwell processors push beyond 120kW per rack. These density levels require a complete redefinition of what a data centre is. Operators across the region, from hyperscalers to colocation providers, are rethinking their design strategies to prepare for a future where AI data halls are standard rather than specialist.  

Investment is following this trend. APAC accounted for four of the world's ten largest data centre transactions in 2024, signalling long-term confidence in the region. New hubs are emerging, too. Singapore has become an anchor for APAC, but with its planning caps and power constraints, growth has also been seen in Johor, Jakarta, and Delhi, as secondary markets. India is scaling rapidly, with capacity expected to reach 3GW by 2030. Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand are also shaping their regulatory and energy frameworks to attract international operators.  

By 2030, analysts at McKinsey estimate that up to 70% of the world's total IT demand will be for AI-ready facilities. That is the fundamental driver behind the region's trajectory, not just the growth in data volume, but also the type of infrastructure required to process it.  

The challenges behind the opportunity

While this boom is happening, it is in a region where infrastructure is uneven, regulation varies, and utilities are being stretched to new limits. This is most evident in power availability, though, grid stability and long-term generation capacity remain ongoing concerns. High-density AI clusters multiply these pressures, demanding levels of resilience, redundancy, and electrical capacity far beyond traditional norms.  

Cooling is another challenge. Due to the heat generated by AI workloads, air-cooled designs, once the global default, are approaching their limits. Liquid cooling, whether direct-to-chip or immersion, is becoming essential. These technologies place different demands on water systems, water treatment plants, and sustainability planning. After years of improvement, power usage effectiveness (PUE) and water usage effectiveness (WUE) are rising again. This reflects the unavoidable resource requirement of these high-density environments.  

There are differing regulations between the countries, too, adding complexity. India offers long tax holidays and credits, but Singapore is more selective in where they allow planning. Japan is a technological hub, and to that end, is subsidising AI computing, whereas Malaysia and Indonesia are providing incentives for renewable energy. Each market operates to a different rhythm, with different bottlenecks and policies that need to be understood. For new entrants, particularly those from the US or Europe, it can be difficult to interpret without specialist knowledge.  

What emerges is a clear pattern across APAC. Growth is outpacing the infrastructure required to support it. Meeting the demand requires expertise developed in other, more mature markets, combined with the local knowledge from the APAC region.  

Global expertise with local insight

As APAC enters this next phase, global experience becomes a requirement. The most successful data centre operators rely on Plan-of-Record design standards, which become refined when implemented across Europe and the US. These templates provide consistency, speed, and predictability. But they only work when adapted precisely to local utility constraints, environmental conditions, and planning and permitting requirements.  

This is where global engineering consultancies, including UK-based teams, add meaningful value. The UK's leadership in zero carbon design, sustainable cooling solutions, and high-density electrical systems is increasingly relevant to APAC. Likewise, our experience supporting hyperscalers as lead consultant has involved mobilising quickly across borders and coordinating multi-disciplinary delivery to adapt designs to local environments. This offers a level of assurance that is difficult to replicate by local companies without established experience.

For investors and operators, the benefit of global expertise lies in navigating risk. In doing so, they can accelerate delivery and ensure that facilities built today remain viable for the workloads of tomorrow. For governments and regulators, it lies in anticipating what digital infrastructure needs will be and having a design team experienced across enough markets to support them.  

As engineers who have delivered data centre programmes across APAC and Europe, we understand this. If you're exploring how to expand or establish a data centre in APAC, we'd be happy to discuss how we can bring your projects to life.