Google's data centre investment to add US$3 billion to MY GDP by 2030

Google said that its investments in Malaysia is estimated to support more than US$3.2 billion in positive economic impact and will create 26,500 jobs by 2030. 

These comments were made at its inaugural "Mantap Malaysia bersama AI" ('Robus Malaysia with AI') event where it held a ceremonial ground breaking today for its first data centre and cloud region in Malaysia. 

"Today, Google reaffirms its support for advancing Malaysia’s digital future with the ground breaking of our data centre and cloud region in Selangor. Google’s investments in infrastructure, digital skilling, and sustainability represent progress on our joint efforts with the Government of Malaysia to create high-value jobs and bring the benefits of AI to local communities and companies," said Ruth Porat, president and chief investment officer of Alphabet and Google.

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"Together, we will empower individuals and businesses in Malaysia to innovate, grow, and fully harness the potential of the digital age. As we do this, Google will continue its responsible stewardship of natural resources by improving community watershed health and ecosystems in Malaysia and helping to drive local adoption of renewable energy sources," added Porat. 

At the same event, Google said that its cloud and data centre infrastructure in Malaysia will help meet growing demand for Google Cloud capabilities and AI innovations, and the company’s popular digital services such as Search, Maps, and Google Workspace.

The cloud region will also deliver high-performance and low-latency services as well as offer customers key controls that allow them to maintain the highest security, data residency, and compliance standards, including specific data storage requirements.

In tandem, Google has announced a series of local digital skilling and sustainability partnerships that build on the strategic collaboration it established with the government of Malaysia to enhance its digital competitiveness. 

This includes its recent partnership with Dagang NeXchange (DNeX) to offer next-generation sovereign cloud solutions in Malaysia, tailored to meet the digital sovereignty requirements of organisations in regulated industries, such as public services, healthcare, and energy.

"We laud Google's swiftness in establishing its data center and cloud region in Malaysia. These state-of-the-art facilities will not only empower our manufacturing and service-based industries—particularly the small and medium businesses (SMBs)—to leverage advanced technologies such as AI and cloud computing, but also enhance our industries’ capacity to move up the global value chain. In line with Malaysia’s net-zero goals, we also welcome Google’s leadership in energy-efficient operations, which will undoubtedly set new national benchmarks in power and water usage effectiveness," said Zafrul Aziz, minister of investment, trade, and industry.

"But above all, this journey is about our people. It is crucial for Malaysians to be equipped with the skills required for the jobs of the future, particularly as more hi-tech and AI-focused investments flow into the country, and as we grow Malaysia’s capacity to serve the region’s digital economy. Google's continued commitment to upskilling our workforce through programs such as Gemilang and Future Skills for All will also ensure a more inclusive digital future for Malaysia’s workforce," added Zafrul. 

Over the past five years, Google has upskilled more than 355,000 Malaysians, including students, educators, small-and-medium-sized business owners, and developers, underscoring its commitment to making digital skills accessible to all.

To better create a supportive ecosystem for innovation, Google also announced a collaboration with UNICEF Malaysia, CelcomDigi, Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), and Arus Academy to bring Future Skills for All to Selangor, with the support of the Ministry of Education (MOE).

This is aimed at reducing inequalities and providing opportunities by enabling future-skills learning for all, particularly children from diverse demographics. The program will train 260 teachers who will subsequently coach up to 61,000 students in Selangor.

On the sustainability front, Google said that its facility in Malaysia will use water-cooling technology which uses 10% less energy compared to air-cooled facilities, resulting in 10% less carbon emissions. 

It will also collaborate with Global Environment Center (GEC) and the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) to restore Taman Aman Lake in Selangor and enhance the environment around it. 

The US$2 billion investment into the creation of a data centre and cloud region was first reported in May this year. The site of the Malaysia investments will be in Sime Darby Property's Elmina Business Park, in Greater Kuala Lumpur. 

When operational, Malaysia will join the 11 countries where Google has built and now operates data centers serving users around the world.

The cloud region will be complemented by Google Cloud's existing Dedicated Cloud Interconnect locations in Cyberjaya and Kuala Lumpur, which provide direct connections between an organisation's on-premises network and Google Cloud's global network. 

The Malaysia cloud region will join 40 regions and 121 zones currently in operation around the world. 

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