SAM to develop $1.5 bln data center in southern Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh City-based fund Saigon Asset Management (SAM) has launched a $1.5 billion data center project in the southern province of Binh Duong, aiming to capitalize on Vietnam’s growing demand for digital infrastructure.

SAM will partner with the Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP), a Singapore-backed major industrial park developer, to implement the project, called the SAM DigitalHub.

The data center, with a designed capacity of 150 MW, will cover 50 hectares at the VSIP and is expected to begin operations in two years. Once completed, it will be the biggest data center in Vietnam.

SAM is seeking potential investors, including local banks, to finance the project, SAM’s CEO Louis Nguyen said.

Recently, SAM debuted the $300 million Vietnam Data Center Fund (VDCF) to prepare for the project, with the first closing scheduled by Q4 this year.

According to a report by Cushman & Wakefield, Vietnam’s developing data center capacity is approximately 92 MW, with an average construction cost of $6.9 million per MW. To meet future demand, the country will need to attract around $640 million in investment over the next five to seven years.

Vietnam’s data center market is still in its early stages, with the lowest population-to-MW ratio in the Asia Pacific region (1.83 million people per MW). However, with a population exceeding 100 million and an average GDP growth rate of 6.25%, the market presents significant growth potential in the coming years, said Trang Bui, country head of Cushman & Wakefield Vietnam.

To support long-term growth, the Vietnamese government should continue improving its digital infrastructure, including terrestrial and submarine cable connectivity, ensuring reliable and uninterrupted power supply, and fostering a policy framework conducive to data center expansion, she suggested.