Asia Pacific’s data centre development pipeline reached a record 19.4 gigawatts in 2025, driven by surging demand from hyperscale cloud providers and artificial intelligence workloads. The figure includes 3.7 gigawatts currently under construction and 15.7 gigawatts in advanced planning stages, according to Cushman & Wakefield’s latest APAC Data Centre Update for the second half of 2025.
Operational capacity across the region grew to 13.8 gigawatts during the year, with Malaysia and India accounting for 58 percent of new supply additions. Johor in Malaysia more than doubled its live capacity to 897 megawatts, while Mumbai in India increased by 42 percent to 768 megawatts.
Southeast Asia Emerges as Key Growth Driver
Southeast Asia captured 31 percent of active construction projects, positioning the subregion for significant delivery in 2026. Markets such as Johor, Bangkok and Jakarta have become focal points for hyperscale deployments due to power availability and proximity to major connectivity hubs.
Johor now ranks as the region’s top market when combining current scale with future growth potential, surpassing traditional leaders like Tokyo and Beijing. Mumbai continues to lead India’s development pipeline, supported by strong subsea connectivity and grid reliability.
Vacancy Tightens Despite Supply Surge
Regional vacancy rates tightened to 10.9 percent in the second half of 2025, down from 12.4 percent a year earlier. The decline reflects robust absorption by cloud providers and enterprises despite the record construction activity.
Capital markets remained resilient, highlighted by Keppel DC REIT’s acquisition of a Tokyo hyperscale facility for 82.1 billion yen, or $551 million. The asset, leased long-term to Microsoft, underscores continued investor confidence in stabilised markets.
Policy and Sustainability Shape Next Phase
Governments across the region are increasingly balancing digital infrastructure expansion with power availability and sustainability requirements. This has led to more selective development focused on energy-efficient designs and renewable integration.
Andrew Green, head of Cushman & Wakefield’s APAC data centre group, noted the market’s transition to delivery mode. Pritesh Swamy, the firm’s APAC data centre research head, highlighted policy recalibration toward AI-ready development that supports long-term scalability.
India’s Position Strengthens
India has overtaken Japan to become the region’s second-largest data centre market by operational capacity at 1.5 gigawatts. Mainland China remains the clear leader with 4.6 gigawatts, or 39 percent of total supply.
Melbourne has entered the “powerhouse” category of leading markets, while Osaka has advanced to established status. These shifts reflect broadening development activity beyond traditional core locations.
Looking ahead to 2026, Cushman & Wakefield expects continued acceleration driven by AI adoption, cloud migration and enterprise digital transformation. Data centres have solidified their position as a core infrastructure asset class across Asia Pacific.
