Google Invests RM9.4 Bil In Malaysia To Build Data Centre, Cloud Region

Tech giant Google is looking to invest approximately RM9.4 billion (US$2 billion) to house its first Google data centre and Google Cloud region in Malaysia.

This development could potentially support up to 26,500 jobs across various sectors.   

Economic impact to the tune of RM15.04 billion

It is expected to create a positive economic impact to the tune of around RM15.04 billion (US$3.2 billion), said the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI).

This project will be Google’s largest planned investment in Malaysia. It will be located in Sime Darby Property’s Elmina Business Park in Greater Kuala Lumpur.

According to MITI, the Google data centre will contribute towards powering Google’s many popular digital services such as Search, Maps, and Workspace.  It will also play an essential role in enabling Google to deliver the benefits of Al to users across the country.

Once the data centre is completed, Malaysia will join the 11 countries where Google has already built and operates data centres that serve users around the world.

New Industrial Master Plan 2030

The Google Cloud region is designed to deliver high-performance and low-latency cloud infrastructure, analytics, and AI services to large enterprises, startups, and public sector organisations, while maintaining the highest security and regulatory compliance standards.

Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz told The Star that Google’s investment will significantly advance the digital ambitions outlined in the New Industrial Master Plan 2030 (NIMP 2030).

“The Google data centre and Google Cloud region in Greater Kuala Lumpur will empower our manufacturing and service-based industries to leverage AI and other advanced technologies to move up the global value chain, with an estimated economic impact valued at RM15.04 billion,” said the minister.

Madani government vision

He also noted that the attraction of investments to Malaysia will spur innovation and drive growth for organisations, as well as helping to facilitate the growth of digital skills, businesses and careers.

According to MITI, Google’s interest in Malaysia is a major milestone for the Madani government’s vision to attract more digital investors to the country to help build a strong and safe digitally enabled economy.

With the construction of the data centres and the Cloud region, the capacity and reliability of cloud services will increase, thus allowing for greater support for various sectors including healthcare, education, and finance.