Global data centre market to hit US$4 tril by 2030; Apac sees bulk of 2024 investments: Knight Frank
Worldwide deal worths averaged US$ 75.4 million in 2024, up 15% y-o-y and 44% more than pre-Covid levels in 2019. Knight Frank’s research study also spotted that Asia Pacific (Apac) dominated information centre ventures, with some US$ 15.5 billion, or 70%, of cross-border information centre deals happening in the region.
The worldwide data facility market is readied to see rapid progress in the coming five years, following a strong rebound in 2024. According to Knight Frank’s latest Global Information Centres Report, worldwide data centre real estate transaction volume bounced back from an interest rate-hike led downturn in 2023 to reach US$ 31.8 billion ($42.9 billion) in 2024, up 118% y-o-y.
The rise in worldwide information centre industry activity is anticipated to carry on in the coming years. Knight Frank approximates that the marketplace is going to notch an annual CAGR of 18% over the next 5 years, pushing it to strike US$ 4 trillion by 2030.
The buoyant outlook reflects mounting need for AI-optimised facilities, cloud services and venture digital campaigns. Knight Frank projects that worldwide data hub capacity will increase 46%, or 20,828 megawatts (MW), over the following 2 years. By 2030, it anticipates capacity can expand by 177%.
Johor is also on track for additional quick expansion. Knight Frank approximates the southerly Malaysian state will see 85% (335 MW) ability growth by 2027, supported by US$ 4.7 billion in financial investment.
Apac is anticipated to add 4,174 MW of capacity by 2027, supported by US$ 58.7 billion in organized investments over the very same time frame. Key factors consist of Tokyo, which is predicted to see US$ 4.1 billion in investments over the next two years that will underpin 25% (295 MW) of capacity growth.
Fred Fitzalan-Howard, Knight Frank’s Apac head of data centres, mentions that the Apac data centre industry will certainly include regarding 8 gigawatts of brand-new capacity over the next 3 years, with a quarter of this alloted to AI workloads. While lower than the global standard due to the region’s Tier 2 or Rate 3 standing under United States AI diffusion rules, the pipeline represents US$ 24 billion in capital investment and 20 to 30 million sq ft of property, he includes.
Fitzalan-Howard sees the first investments as laying the foundation for more AI facilities rollouts in the region. “However, attending to diverse regulative structures and adapting to United States export regulates on AI chips stay essential factors in increasing Apac’s possibilities in this quickly evolving sector,” he continues.
Throughout the embankment, Singapore remains a key data centre market in spite of regulative and land restraints. Nonetheless, the record highlights that with vacant rates lower 1%, transactions in the city-state have changed towards smaller sized offers, in tandem with an upsurge in rates.
