Editor’s note: This content is sponsored by PLDT and was produced by BrandRap, the sales and marketing arm of Rappler. No member of the news and editorial team participated in the production of this piece.

The building of the largest hyperscale data center that aims to make the Philippines Asia-Pacific’s digital destination has begun. The groundbreaking ceremony took place in Sta. Rosa, Laguna where the VITRO Sta. Rosa Data Center by PLDT will rise in 2023.

The Lion City of the South is dubbed as the ICT hub of region 4A. According to Mayor Arlene Arcillas, who graced the groundbreaking ceremony, Sta. Rosa is a prime location for ICT and BPO businesses outside of Metro Manila. This is why the city has been chosen as the location for this historical project. 

This marks the country’s 11th state of the art data center, the first of a series of hyperscale data facilities, and the largest facility to be constructed today. The VITRO Sta. Rosa Data Center will have 4,500 racks, 50% worth of the combined total racks that all of our current data facilities have.

“We’ve been planning this for a long time. This is a real hyperscaler that we’re building here today and the groundbreaking is the proof,” said PLDT President Al Panlilio.

Panlilio believes that this will usher in the second coming of the BPO industry and will again put the Philippines on the map. And that goal requires a hypercollaboration between the private and public sectors. That’s why the MVP group has partnered with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Information and Communications (DICT), Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), and the local government of Laguna to make this happen.

DTI has committed to the goal of preparing the Philippines for the hyperscaler era by including hyperscale data centers in their investment priority plans; calling the hyperscale hubs as the Philippines’ next growth engine.

“This is a milestone and a crucial turning point for our country,” said DTI Sec. Ramon Lopez. “The Philippines is poised to be the next hyperscaler hub in the Asia-Pacific.”

PLDT is also working hand in hand with Meralco to ensure that there will be enough energy to power the biggest data center in the country. Meralco SVP and head of networks Ronnie Aperocho assured that Sta. Rosa is the perfect location for the VITRO data center because of its power capacity. It will be built in the middle of a very secure power corridor surrounded by substations in Sta. Rosa, Calauan, Biñan, and soon, Calamba.

The building of the hyperscale data center not only aims to replicate the boom of the BPO industry, it will also benefit the public by helping lower data costs, improve customer experience, and advance our financial technology. – Rappler.com