In a development that further solidifies Japan as a data centre destination, GLP has announced a substantial plan to enter the (Japan data centre) market.
GLP is a leading global investment manager and business builder in logistics, data infrastructure, renewable energy and related technologies. It has set a target of delivering 900 megawatts (MW) of power capacity, which would make the company one of the leading data centre operators in the country.
GLP is targeting to invest more than JPY 1.5 trillion (~$12 billion) over the next five years to support increasing demand for high-performance and environmentally-friendly data centres in Japan, the company said in a statement. The focus investment regions are Greater Tokyo and Greater Osaka, the main economic clusters in the country, which are the most active and demanding areas for online consumption and digital applications, which is driving demand for data centres.
“We have a two-decade track record in developing, owning and operating state-of-the-art, sustainable logistics facilities that make the world run more efficiently. Our further expansion into data centres is a natural extension of our mission to provide critical infrastructure systems to support increasing digitalisation in the new economy. With our investment and operating expertise, we believe we are well-positioned to build and scale a high-quality, full-service digital infrastructure platform to serve the growing needs in this market and serve the growing institutional investor demand for this asset class.” Yoshiyuki Chosa, President of GLP Japan
Secured land
Japan GLP K.K. was established in March 2009 and is the Japanese subsidiary of GLP. GLP’s logistics business in Japan spans 10 million sqm of GFA covering all major logistics hubs in Japan, providing highly functional and environmentally friendly logistics facilities that serve as critical infrastructure to support urban life and economic activity.
GLP has secured land to develop state-of-the art data centre assets that will provide approximately 600 MW of power capacity when they are completed. GLP expects to break ground on its first Japan data centre campus in Greater Tokyo in 2023, with the first building expected to be ready for service from 2024.
Japan’s data centre market is growing annually at a rate of 16 percent on a yearly basis. Increased adoption of new technologies, data analytics and the Internet of Things have translated to a surge in demand for secure, reliable and efficient digital infrastructure solutions to support digital consumption across work, life and entertainment. Third-party data centre providers offer access to leading-edge infrastructure, economies of scale and modern, energy-efficient technologies and equipment with lower upfront capital requirements and increased flexibility to seamlessly scale to adapt to evolving business demands.
Aiming for sustainable growth
Digital infrastructure is a key growth engine for GLP, sitting alongside the established logistics real estate business and the emerging renewables business. To offset this high-energy-consuming industry, GLP data centers will align with GLP’s ESG policy and seek to adopt efficiency measures throughout design, build and operations, to reduce operational costs for customers while helping them reach their sustainability goals.
These include determining the most energy-efficient configuration to optimise airflow design, promoting the use of clean energy from renewable sources and intelligently linking IT and facility management with performance-related metadata to optimise cooling and power usage effectiveness.
GLP is building a comprehensive digital infrastructure business of more than 2,500 MW and operates across Brazil, China, Europe, India, Japan, the U.S. and Vietnam and have more than $120 billion in assets under management in real estate and private equity. In China, GLP is one of the largest vertically integrated data centre operators with over 300 team members and assets that will provide over 1,400 MW of It capacity.
GLP recently delivered the first phase of a 120 MW built to suit data centre campus in Changshu High-tech Industrial Development Zone, Jiangsu Province outside of Shanghai to one of GLP’s existing customers. In addition to China and Japan, GLP has also secured prime data centre campus sites in Europe to capitalise on growth opportunities in the digital infrastructure industry.
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