Throughout 2024, we have reported that several large technology companies such as Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Oracle will open data centers in Malaysia in the near future. In relation to this, the Ministry of Housing and Local Government has joined hands with the Town and Country Planning Department (PLANMalaysia) to develop the Malaysian Data Center Planning Guidelines (GPP) document.
These guidelines refer to policies, circulars and standards formulated and enforced by the authorities based on the scope of authority provided by law as well as planning guideline documents that are updated from time to time.
The announcement of this document was officiated by Nga Kor Ming, Minister of KPKT who said this document was developed to provide easy-to-understand guidelines to companies that want to develop data centers in this country.
These guidelines cover site planning, procedures for applying for development plans, including planning permission and building plans, and can be used for the development of data centers with a capacity of more than one megavolt ampere, either in new areas or existing buildings.
Apart from strengthening and facilitating data center development plans in designated locations, these guidelines also aim to ensure that power and water distribution for domestic locations are not affected by the high electricity and water supply requirements of these data centers. .
Nga also said that he expects that Malaysia will be the main destination for data center development, with the need to generate power as high as 4 MegaWatt for data centers alone in the next four to five years.
The guidelines for this data center will be presented during the National Council of Local Government meeting to be held on November 14, 2024. For those of you who are interested in knowing more about these guidelines, you can download the PDF via the PLANMalaysia website.