Blackstone-Backed AirTrunk Gets $1.8 Billion Loan To Build Second Data Center In Singapore

An AirTrunk data center campus in Sydney.

Courtesy of Airtrunk

AirTrunk—backed by U.S. private equity giant Blackstone—received a S$2.3 billion ($1.8 billion) loan to build its second cloud computing facility in the eastern Singapore town of Loyang, doubling down on its investments in one of the data center hubs in the Asia Pacific.

The new AI-powered data center, which will have a capacity of over 70 megawatts, will be financed by a syndicate of more than 20 banks including Crédit Agricole CIB, DBS Bank and ING Bank, the Sydney-based company said in a statement released on Monday.

“This landmark transaction is Singapore’s largest loan and green loan for a data center,” Robin Khuda, founder and CEO of AirTrunk said in the statement. “It strengthens AirTrunk’s leadership in sustainable finance and reflects strong market confidence in AirTrunk’s growth and sustainability strategy.”

The new facility, dubbed SGP2, will have among the lowest power usage among data centers in Singapore, according to AirTrunk. To further reduce its carbon footprint, the facility will be constructed using so-called green concrete and steel. Singapore has been selectively approving new data center projects after lifting a three-year moratorium in 2022 to ensure new facilities are built in a sustainable manner.

Singapore has been attracting investments from global tech giants. In May 2024, Amazon announced plans to invest S$12 billion ($9 billion) to scale up its cloud infrastructure in the country over the next four years. The following month, Google completed expanding its facilities in the Lion City, bringing its total investment to $5 billion.

AirTrunk currently operates SGP1, which was Singapore’s largest data center when it opened in late 2020. Built on a 1.5-hectare site in Loyang, it has a capacity of over 78MW and is located in the same area where the new center will be developed.

Founded in 2015 in Australia, where it opened its first facility, AirTrunk has since expanded across the region with operations in Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore. Blackstone and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought AirTrunk last year in a deal valuing the company at A$24 billion ($15.6 billion), including debt and investment commitments for ongoing projects.