Philippines data center market seen doubling by 2034

By AI, Created 9:57 AM UTC, May 20, 2026, /AGP/ – The Philippines data center market was valued at $1.04 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach $2.23 billion by 2034, powered by cloud adoption, AI workloads and foreign investment liberalization. The sector is shifting from Metro Manila-centric colocation to hyperscale builds in Clark, Cavite and Laguna as operators race to add capacity and clean power.

Why it matters: - The Philippines data center market is on track to more than double over the next decade, signaling a larger role for the country in ASEAN digital infrastructure. - Faster buildout matters for cloud services, AI workloads, e-commerce and data-sovereign enterprise systems that need low-latency local hosting. - New capacity could also make the Philippines a regional export point for computing power, not just a domestic demand market.

What happened: - The market reached $1,043.5 million in 2025 and is projected to hit $2,226.9 million by 2034, according to the report. - The forecast implies an 8.61% compound annual growth rate from 2026 to 2034. - The report points to about 200 MW of operational data center capacity in the Philippines today. - The Department of Information and Communications Technology is targeting 1.5 GW by the end of 2027 and 18 GW within the next decade. - Republic Act 11659 opened data center ownership to 100% foreign equity and helped trigger new international investment. - The market includes more than 28 existing facilities and 13 upcoming projects. - The report says the full report is available for request.

The details: - Colocation accounts for about 94.85% of the market. - Retail colocation currently leads, while wholesale colocation is gaining ground as enterprises move workloads to the cloud. - ePLDT’s VITRO network leads colocation capacity with 11 sites and 9,000 racks nationwide. - Metro Manila remains the main hub, with about 20 active facilities. - Cavite, Quezon, Clark and Laguna are drawing larger developments because of land availability, power access and lower operating costs. - Construction costs average $6.5 million to $7.5 million per MW, which the report says is below Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia. - The Philippines has more than 1.5 million BPO professionals, supporting adjacent digital services demand. - The country’s submarine cable links include APRICOT, SEA-H2X and Bifrost, and Globe Telecom is investing in the Mindanao Submarine Cable Project. - The report segments the market by component, data center type, enterprise size, end user and region. - Key players listed include Alibaba Cloud, Digital Edge (Singapore) Holdings Pte. Ltd, EdgeConneX Inc, Equinix Inc., Space DC Pte Ltd. and VITRO Inc.

Between the lines: - The policy shift under Republic Act 11659 is doing more than attracting capital; it is changing who can own and scale digital infrastructure in the Philippines. - Hyperscale projects suggest the market is moving beyond small enterprise facilities toward larger campuses built for AI and cloud demand. - The formation of the Data Center Operators of the Philippines in November 2025 signals a more coordinated industry voice on power, permitting and sustainability. - Renewable energy is becoming a competitive requirement as operators respond to global hyperscaler expectations and national clean-energy targets. - Geographic diversification away from Metro Manila suggests operators are balancing cost, land, resilience and power access.

What’s next: - The DICT’s 18 GW plan and 1.5 GW near-term target will shape how fast the market can scale. - ENDECGROUP’s 300 MW Narra Technology Park in New Clark City is expected to start operations in Q4 2026. - PLDT plans a new facility in General Trias, Cavite, after launching VITRO Sta. Rosa, its first hyperscale site built for AI workloads. - ST Telemedia’s $1 billion Fairview campus is positioned to become the country’s largest data center at 124 MW. - First Gen is negotiating to supply at least 180 MW of clean power to data center operators. - Alibaba Cloud plans to open its second Philippines data center region and cloud availability zone. - Equinix has already entered the market by acquiring three TIM data centers in Makati and Cavite for about $180 million.

The bottom line: - The Philippines is moving from a secondary data center market to an emerging ASEAN hub, with policy reform, hyperscale investment and AI demand driving the next phase of growth.