Arcadis Data Center Location Index 2021: Hong Kong ranked as attractive city to build data centers
Arcadis, the leading global Design & Consultancy organization for natural and built assets, today announced the release of its Data Center Location Index 2021, which lists the most favorable markets for localization. Out of 50 cities, Hong Kong is amongst the most attractive cities to build data centers, ranking at number 12. Asia-Pacific is very well represented in the index, with strong performances from Singapore, Japan and China.
Data centers are a core integral requirement for the facilitation of 5G network capabilities, cloud computing, big data analytics and artificial intelligence. In Hong Kong, the data center market was worth US$883 million in 2018 and is projected to grow at a five-year compound annual growth rate of 14% to reach US$1.7 billion by 2023.
The city is well set up further growth in the technology industry with a supportive Government policy and the right infrastructure in place but the provision of suitable land for data center development will be important if Hong Kong wants to establish itself as a data center hub in Asia.
“With the increasing demand for data centers globally, and greater reliance on them by businesses in Hong Kong, the SAR is taking the necessary actions to support the data center industry. This includes a dedicated unit focused on data center development, a land supply policy to facilitate new data center development, and policies to support the redevelopment of existing industrial buildings as data centers. Additionally, the telecom infrastructure, broadband quality and download speed are among the best in Asia.” said Francis Au, Arcadis’ Greater China Growth Director.
The Arcadis Data Center Location Index 2021 covers 50 of the largest cities across six continents ranking optimal places to build data centers in the world. The index is based on each market’s performance across eight key criteria: GDP per capita, dealing with construction permits, price of electricity, energy security, cybersecurity, domestic market size, the number of mobile broadband subscriptions and mean download speed. The index provides insights that can be used to guide the decision-making process about where to establish a new facility. Additionally, the 2021 report outlines a roadmap for the process of building a new data center and focuses on the significant current issues impacting the industry including climate change, the effects of COVID-19, and the growth of hyperscalers.
Download the full report here
