Blackstone-owned data center firm AirTrunk has secured a landmark S$2.25 billion (US$1.75 billion), Singapore’s largest ever loan and green loan for a data center, to develop a new 70-megawatt (MW) hyperscale data centre, AirTrunk SGP2, in Singapore, according to a press release by the company today. The financing structure entails a green loan with an option to convert into a sustainability linked loan (SLL) at a later stage. All financial incentives from the loan will be directed to AirTrunk’s social impact fund to benefit Singapore’s community, said the press release.
Leading the consortium financing the loan are Crédit Agricole CIB, DBS Bank and ING Bank in partnership with 23 other local and international financial institutions.
“This landmark transaction strengthens AirTrunk’s leadership in sustainable finance and reflects strong market confidence in AirTrunk’s growth and sustainability strategy. The financing structure highlights the strength, depth, and international scale of Singapore’s financial ecosystem,” said AirTrunk Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Robin Khuda.
Located in Loyang, Singapore, the data centre has been designed to achieve a BCA GreenMark Platinum rating and a Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) of 1.20, which is amongst the lowest data centre PUEs in Singapore. The campus will also feature green concrete and green steel throughout. AirTrunk will partner with technology companies to develop the data center which will provide cloud and artificial intelligence compute capacity for Singapore and the Southeast Asian region.
The press release added that the loan aligns with the Technical Screening Criteria of the Singapore-Asia Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance and AirTrunk’s Green Financing Framework, as well as reflects growing momentum in the shift toward responsible investment with Singapore at the forefront as a leading global green finance hub.
In April, Bloomberg News had reported that AirTrunk was seeking a S$2.2 billion green loan for a new greenfield project in Singapore.
“AirTrunk’s SGP2 facility sets a new benchmark for responsible infrastructure development in Asia. Its innovative green loan structure with option to convert into a sustainability linked loan (SLL) at a later stage reflects a holistic approach to long-term impact,” said Jasmine Zhang, Crédit Agricole CIB’s Head of Telecom Finance for Asia-Pacific.
Meanwhile, DBS Bank Group Head of Telecommunications, Media & Technology, Western MNCs and Digital Economy, Amit Sinha, said the loan came at a pivotal time as demand for computing power continues to surge across the region. “As both a global financial hub and a data centre leader, Singapore is uniquely positioned to catalyse the sector’s transformation,” he said.
ING Bank Managing Director, Head of TMT & Healthcare, Krishna Suryanarayanan, hailed the deal, describing it as strengthening AirTrunk’s reputation as a sustainability leader among data centre operators globally.
