Data Centres

Will the next DC-CFA finally be unveiled next week?

The rumour mill is working overtime

Paul Mah

05 Jun 2025 — 2 min read

The rumour mill is working overtime. Will the DC-CFA 2 be finally announced next Thursday? I think we are looking at it the wrong way.

Meeting date set

As I commented in a previous post, the data centre industry is among the most secretive around... and the leakiest.

There's no doubt been quite a few WhatsApp messages circulating about a meeting at IMDA next week. The speculation: It's the much-anticipated DC-CFA2.

So is it?

Well, I honestly don't know, as decision makers are holding their cards really close to their chest. And IMDA does have a track record of deliberations with industry stakeholders before any substantive announcements.

If I had to guess, I'd say probably not.

For what it's worth, I also think we are looking at it the wrong way.

Why the fuss over DC-CFA 2?

First, what is the DC-CFA, or Data Centre - Call for Application? The pilot round was launched in 2022 and offered a way for operators to submit proposals to potentially secure capacity for new data centres.

As a mature data centre hub, operators are generally keen to secure additional capacity here. Hence the keen interest in the next DC-CFA, or DC-CFA 2 as it's commonly dubbed.

Here's the thing: I don't expect DC-CFA 2 to be a repeat of the pilot DC-CFA.

After all, a lot has happened since 2022:

ChatGPT took the world by storm.
Continued improvements in AI since.
Green Data Centre Roadmap with 300MW.
Green Mark for Data Centre (2024) released.

Also, the fact that progress of capacity awarded during the pilot DC-CFA has been... really slow, will be a consideration in official deliberations.

In my view, thinking about DC-CFA 2 as a revised version of DC-CFA will probably bring us to all the wrong conclusions.

What I think

Thinking back to all my interactions with IMDA, EDB, and attending various briefings, here's what I'll say of Singapore's likely path forward for data centres.