Philippine Tycoon Edgar Saavedra’s Megawide To Build $300 Million Data Center In Digital Pivot

Megawide—controlled by tycoon Edgar Saavedra—is building a $300 million data center in Cavite, south of the Philippine capital of Manila, as the construction company pivots to the digital space.

The 69-megawatt facility—which is being developed by Megawide in partnership with Singapore-based Evolution Data Centres (EDC)—will be constructed in phases over a five-year period, the company said in a statement on Wednesday. The project is subject to Philippine regulatory approval.

This is the first data center project for Megawide, one of the country’s biggest infrastructure builders. Among the company’s major projects is Mactan-Cebu International Airport, which it refurbished and managed in partnership with Indian airport operator GMR Infrastructure. The airport was acquired by the billionaire Aboitiz family’s Aboitiz InfraCapital last September for 25 billion pesos ($453 million).

“While we have focused on transport and social infrastructure in recent years, current technological advances have significantly changed everyday life,” Jaime Feliciano, chief business development officer at Megawide said in the statement. “Digitalization has greatly affected enterprises and consumers alike and data centers are at the very core of this new reality.”

Increased data consumption has been attracting hyper-scalers and cloud service providers to expand in the Philippines in recent years, Darren Webb, CEO of Evolution Data Centres, said. In March last year, Singapore-based ST Telemedia Global Data Centres formed an alliance with Globe Telecom—backed by the country’s oldest conglomerate Ayala Corp.—to expand its footprint in the archipelago amid booming demand for server space from e-commerce and other digital platforms.