Now in its seventh year, Turner & Townsend’s Data Centre Cost Index is the construction industry’s only cost index specific to the data centre sector. The 2023 index covers 46 key markets for data centre construction around the world, providing an index ranking and an indicative US Dollar per watt (US$/W) cost for each location.
The introduction to the Index notes that “Exponential growth in demand is continuing to propel the global data centre market. Alongside long-running pressures on costs and schedules, linked to labour and material supply, our 2023 survey shows that power availability is a growing priority for the sector. As data centres compete to connect to energy grids, newer markets could be set to benefit”.
The Index’s summary of how markets rank in terms of cost indicates that “while the traditionally expensive core data centre markets still top the table – from Japan, Switzerland, Singapore and the US – emerging regions are climbing into the higher ranks for the first time. Tokyo is now the most expensive market in which to build data centres – jumping three places from fourth in 2022 and overtaking last year’s leader, Zurich. Jakarta has jumped up from rank 14 to rank seven since 2022, and Kuala Lumpur has jumped six places – demonstrating an acceleration in costs in emerging Asian locations. The Indonesian market is seeing fast growth as the local economy takes off.
Johannesburg has had the biggest jump of any location, increasing eight places – reflecting the impact of increased activity in emerging African markets. Driven in part by investors looking for new opportunities in underserved markets and more economical land capacity, demand for data centre construction in Africa has been on an upwards trajectory for several years. The Middle East is also an emerging hotspot for data centre construction as the region’s power demands increase to support nation-building programmes. Riyadh in Saudi Arabia has newly entered the index at rank 14″.
To access the Index findings, visit: https://reports.turnerandtownsend.com/dcci-2023/