Aerial view of Sunway City Iskandar Puteri overlooking the Malaysia–Singapore Second Link.
PETALING JAYA: Johor is turning out to be a golden hunting ground for the Sunway Group, after it secured a deal yesterday that will see it disposing of two parcels of land spanning 64 acres in Sunway City Iskandar Puteri (SCIP).
The sale, estimated to be worth upwards of RM380mil and is tagging on the current white-hot data centre theme, would be to Singapore-based Equalbase Pte Ltd for the purpose of data centre development.
This follows Sunway’s subsidiary Sunway Construction Bhd’s (SunCon) previous two data centre construction wins in Sedenak worth an approximated combined RM2bil.
In a media statement, Sunway said the latest investment by Equalbase builds upon Equalbase Sunway 103°, a joint venture between the group and Equalbase which sits on a Free Commercial Zone with a gross development value (GDV) of RM8bil, for the carbon-neutral logistics hub in SCIP.
SCIP chief executive Gerard Soosay said the sale reaffirms Sunway’s strategic vision to create value and maximise the growth potential of SCIP in Iskandar Malaysia.
Commenting that SCIP is strategically located just five kilometres from the Second Link, allowing it to leverage its close proximity to Singapore, he added: “It underscores investor confidence in Johor, and our commitment to making SCIP the centrepiece of Malaysia’s southern development corridor, attracting investments from around the world.”
Furthermore, he believes the proposed disposal will provide an opportunity for Sunway to realise gains and unlock the value of its original investment.
Meanwhile, Equalbase executive chairman Christian Bischoff revealed that his company has gone through extensive preparation for the major milestone to ensure the project would be a success.
In tandem with Equalbase’s control, development and management of essential areas such as clean energy production and battery storage systems, he is confident that the company would be building one of the most sustainable data centres.
Meanwhile, Sunway noted that Johor’s strategic location in Asia-Pacific has seen the likes of large global players such as Microsoft Corp, Nvidia Corp and Amazon.com Inc making immense investments in the local data centre scene.
“The establishment of the data centres will enable these mega corporations to power their artificial intelligence capabilities, big data infrastructure and cloud computing services, among others,” it said.
The group said the proposed development of the data centres will further propel Johor’s economic growth and add to SCIP’s vibrant ecosystem, elevating the city’s appeal to high-income professionals and global corporations looking to establish a regional headquarters.
Moreover, with an estimated GDV of RM30bil and a 250,000-strong community when fully developed, the 2,000-acre township is a sustainable and integrated city encompassing retail malls, leisure, hospitality, theme parks, hotels, commercial offices, integrated healthcare facilities and educational institutions.
Meanwhile, besides the two data centre projects in Johor, the group’s unit SunCon had also bagged a RM748mil data centre building project in Selangor back in March.
Sunway’s transaction through SCIP is the latest in a recent slew of data centre projects that has seen a number of local construction giants embark on the digitalisation bandwagon, and proof that the data centre wave is showing no signs of slowing down.
