HÀ NỘI — Singapore’s Sembcorp Development has received investment approval to develop a large data centre campus in HCM City, targeting rising demand for cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) services in Việt Nam’s fast-growing digital economy.

Sembcorp Development is a subsidiary of Singapore-based Sembcorp Industries, a global energy and urban development group listed on the Singapore Exchange.

The project will be carried out by StarMason Joint Stock Company, a joint venture in which Sembcorp Development holds a 49 per cent stake alongside BB Holdings. The planned campus will be located in Sai Gon Hi-Tech Park (SHTP), one of the country’s leading technology hubs.

According to the company, the proposed development will cover about 4.5 hectares and be built in phases, with total computing capacity of up to 90MW. The facility is designed to meet Uptime Institute Tier III standards, with an ambition to achieve the higher Tier IV classification.

Global demand for data centres is surging, driven by cloud computing and AI. According to consultancy McKinsey, global data centre capacity could grow at around 10 per cent annually through 2030, fuelled largely by AI workloads.

In Việt Nam, the value of the digital economy was estimated at around US$39 billion in 2025, up 17 per cent year-on-year, according to the 10th edition of the e-Conomy SEA report by Google, Temasek and Bain and Company.

Once operational, the campus is expected to support hyperscale cloud providers, AI-driven enterprises and other high-performance computing workloads, as demand for digital infrastructure continues to rise in Việt Nam.

Sembcorp Development CEO Lee Ark Boon said the approval marked a key step for the company to contribute to the country’s digital infrastructure amid rapid growth in cloud adoption and AI applications.

The partnership combines Sembcorp’s experience in industrial and infrastructure development with BB Holdings’ more than 30 years of expertise in large-scale urban projects in Việt Nam.

The project is also aligned with national priorities to strengthen digital infrastructure and position HCM City as a regional innovation hub.

StarMason said it would continue to explore further opportunities to expand its data centre investments in Việt Nam. — BIZHUB/VNS