PLDT looks south for biggest data center site in PH

PLDT Inc.’s data center arm Vitro Inc. is looking at southern Luzon as a viable site for its next expansion, which could become the largest data center yet for both the company and the Philippines.

According to PLDT chair Manuel V. Pangilinan, the company has already presented potential sites to its board for the planned facility. This would add to Vitro’s existing capacity of about 62.4 megawatts (MW) across nine data centers.

Viable locations

For Vitro president and CEO Victor Genuino, areas south of Metro Manila are emerging as viable locations for the large-scale facility, given their ability to support the substantial power and water requirements of data centers.

Genuino said PLDT’s next data center “has to be” 100 MW.

At that scale, he said the facility could cater to hyperscalers as well as growing demand from artificial intelligence (AI) and enterprise AI applications.

“If we build the next one, it would be good if it is in the south. The electricity is good, power is adequate, there are industrial zones and that’s also where Meralco is investing in terms of their distribution network expansion,” Genuino added.

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One of the locations under consideration is General Trias City in Cavite, he said.

In 2025, PLDT announced plans to develop a 100-MW data center in Cavite, which Pangilinan said would be built in five phases of 20 MW each and could cost as much as P40 billion.