Vietnam's military-run telco giant Viettel builds one of Southeast Asia’s largest data centers

Military Industry and Telecoms Group (Viettel) has broken ground on a state-of-the-art data center in Ho Chi Minh City, set to become one of the largest in Southeast Asia and the first in Vietnam to have such a hyperscale capacity.

Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony on April 23, chairman and CEO Tao Duc Thang described the event as a significant milestone in Vietnam’s digital infrastructure development.

The High-Tech Data Center and R&D Complex will span nearly four hectares in the Tan Phu Trung Industrial Park in Cu Chi district and is designed with a total power capacity of up to 140 megawatts, housing approximately 10,000 server racks. It will be built and operated according to Uptime Institute’s tier III international standards.

The facility will offer an average rack power density of 10 kW - 2.5 times higher than the national average - with peak capacity reaching 60 kW per rack. This high-performance setup is engineered to meet the computational demands of large-scale artificial intelligence (AI) models and applications.

To support such density, the data center will incorporate advanced cooling technologies and an AI-driven intelligent management system developed in-house by Viettel.

“With this project, Viettel affirms its strategic shift from traditional data centers to next-generation hyperscale facilities, capable of supporting AI super applications, large-scale data analytics, and national-level cloud platforms,” said Thang.

“This is also one of the first data centers equipped to handle next-generation high-power AI racks while meeting global standards,” he added.

Currently, Vietnam’s total data center capacity stands at 182 MW, far below the 870 MW target set for 2030, according to a recent report by the Ministry of Science and Technology.

The new facility of Viettel is expected to play a key role in reaching this goal and in advancing the national and regional data center roadmap outlined in the 2021-2030 ICT infrastructure master plan.

“Data centers are no longer just technical facilities for storing resources - they are the foundation of digital sovereignty, forming the backbone of the digital economy, society, and government,” Thang emphasized.

He further noted that all security, monitoring, and cybersecurity coordination systems have been independently developed by Viettel, ensuring complete technological sovereignty without dependence on third parties.

“Viettel doesn’t just commit to storage capacity - we commit to security. We don’t just protect data - we protect the stability and lifeline of a digital economy.”

According to the company leader, the new center will form a key part of Viettel’s broader digital infrastructure network, which already includes 15 data centers across Hanoi, Danang, Ho Chi Minh City, and Binh Duong.

Viettel also plans to deploy 20,000 5G base stations by the end of this year, aiming to cover 95% of urban populations.

The company has pledged to execute the project with the highest standards of speed, discipline, and quality. The first phase is expected to go live in the first quarter of 2026, with full completion slated before 2030.