Key facts
- Asia-Pacific's data center development pipeline reached a record 26.5GW in H1 2026.
- The pipeline grew by 7.1GW in six months, with 4.8GW under construction and 21.7GW in planning.
- Southeast Asia accounts for 50% of the region's under-construction capacity.
- Power availability is now the primary constraint for data center development.
- Johor, Malaysia, and Bangkok, Thailand, are leading construction hubs.
- Sydney, Mumbai, and Jakarta also experienced substantial pipeline growth.
The Asia-Pacific region is experiencing a record surge in data center development, with the pipeline reaching 26.5GW in the first half of 2026, driven by intense demand for artificial intelligence and cloud computing. This expansion represents a significant increase, with 7.1GW added in just six months, more than double the previous period.
Hyperscalers and cloud providers are rapidly securing capacity across the region, leading to a tightening of colocation vacancy rates to 10.3%. Southeast Asia is emerging as a primary destination, now accounting for 50% of the under-construction capacity, with Malaysia and Thailand leading the charge. Johor, Malaysia, has seen substantial growth, partly due to Singapore's past moratorium on new data center builds and ongoing land, water, and energy constraints.
Power availability has become the critical limiting factor in data center expansion, shifting site selection priorities from connectivity to energy supply. Companies are adopting modular construction and advanced cooling technologies to accelerate deployment and maximize existing infrastructure. Beyond Southeast Asia, markets like Sydney, Mumbai, and Jakarta are also experiencing significant pipeline growth, with Australia, India, Japan, and Malaysia expected to exceed 2GW of operational capacity by 2028.