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# The first AI data centre campus in Southeast Asia takes shape in Johor
- URL: https://www.techstories.co/the-first-ai-data-centre-campus-in-southeast-asia-takes-shape-in-johor/
- Published: 2026-06-29T14:14:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-07-04T17:31:43.000Z
- Description: Phase A is already fully committed, Phase B fully pre-booked.
- Author: Paul Mah
- Tags: Events, Data Centres

[Racks Central](https://www.rackscentral.com/?ref=techstories.co) today held an event in Johor to mark a milestone in its upcoming 510MW AI data centre campus.

I was invited to its Pasir Gudang data centre this morning. To my knowledge, this is the first AI data centre campus in Southeast Asia.

### A 510MW AI data centre campus

Racks Central was founded in 2014 with a modest 12MW data centre in Singapore. It is now building a [510MW AI campus](https://www.rackscentral.com/news/racks-central-celebrates-milestone-for-southeast-asia-s-first-ai-factory-campus-in-johor?ref=techstories.co) in Pasir Gudang, deliberately sited away from the other data centre clusters in Johor.

It is hard to imagine a colocation operator making a foray to build such a massive campus, much less an advanced AI one. But Racks Central is playing for keeps. It recently hired Suppan Saravanamuthu, a well-regarded industry veteran who joined from Iron Mountain to serve as its COO, per his announcement three weeks ago.

![](https://acuitio-media.sgp1.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/public/post/7477363860232962048/1e16af9d3216a577.jpg)

### First 70MW fully committed

In his opening speech, Racks Central CEO Bobby Wee noted that Phase A of 70MW capacity is already fully committed. Phase B, with 120MW, is also fully pre-booked.

Attendees were given a site tour of Phase A, which is expected to be ready for service by Q1 2027\. I wasn't allowed to take photos, but I could see the structure of the first two levels erected, and step inside.

A few details stood out about the first phase. It is a three-storey data centre, it will exclusively feature Blackwell GPUs, and it is designed for full direct-to-chip cooling. Notably, the campus will draw water from a nearby reservoir with water treatment done in-house. This means no burdening of municipal water treatment facilities.

![](https://acuitio-media.sgp1.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/public/post/7477363860232962048/2b53ec29baeef102.jpg)

### Designed for GreenRE Platinum

During the visit, I was told that the team is designing the campus for GreenRE Platinum. [GreenRE](https://www.greenre.org/?ref=techstories.co) is an independent framework created by [REHDA](https://rehdainstitute.com/?ref=techstories.co), the association of real estate and housing developers, for Malaysian buildings and data centres.

It draws from the global green-building certification movement, including Singapore's [Posts](https://www.techstories.co/ghost/#/posts/)[IMDA-BCA Green Mark for Data Centres](https://www.imda.gov.sg/how-we-can-help/bca-imda-green-mark-for-data-centres-scheme?ref=techstories.co). However, it has its own data centre rating tool and score tiers. In some sense GreenRE is stricter, because it adds explicit prerequisite and performance gates, and proof is required.

### Built for what comes next

Nvidia's upcoming Vera Rubin will require today's data centres to be completely redesigned, given its call for DC power, warm-water cooling, and extreme density.

And according to Bobby, upcoming phases will support it, all the way to the 600kW Rubin Ultra. That is a big claim for a site still rising out of the ground in Pasir Gudang. I'll be very interested to see it implemented right next door.