Johor’s Data Centres, Verified: 42 Approved Projects, RM164.45 Billion — and What Each Number Actually Counts

Data centres have been Johor’s favourite talking point for two years, and plenty of summary tables are doing the rounds. The trouble is that those tables add up project investments, construction costs, green financing facilities and land purchase prices as if they were the same kind of money. They are not, and the total you get from adding them means nothing. This page sets out what each number actually counts.

First: four kinds of money that cannot be added together

When you look at any data centre table, read the “type of amount” column first. The same RM2 billion can mean very different things:

The list, checked line by line

What this table covers: the state has approved 42 projects, but details were never published for most of them. The 11 below are the ones with enough public information to verify — the published portion, not all 42.

Every entry below was traced back to a company release, a Bursa Malaysia filing, MIDA or a state government statement. Where nothing was published, this page says so rather than filling in an estimate.

Three things that are most often got wrong

Where the power comes from

• TNB has signed electricity supply agreements for 59 data centre projects totalling 8.3GW, with 68% of that capacity in Johor. All are on a take-or-pay basis for the first five years of operation.
• In Johor itself, 21 operating data centres draw close to 1.1GW; those under construction or in planning need a further 4 to 5GW.
• The state is targeting about 5GW of additional solar by 2030–2031 (4GW across Kota Tinggi and Mersing, 1GW in Segamat).

Water: the state is already tightening

For a buyer this matters more than the investment totals, because it governs how much more can be approved.

• From late 2025, Johor stopped approving less efficient Tier 1 and Tier 2 data centres and strongly recommended alternative water sources.
• September 2025: SPAN guidelines require reclaimed water for cooling as the first option, otherwise air cooling with zero discharge.
• 10 March 2026: the Menteri Besar said plainly that water-intensive data centres will not be approved; household supply comes first.
• Every project must clear the Johor State Data Centre Development Coordination Committee (JPPPDNJ), which assesses PUE. Around 30% of bids were rejected in 2024 for failing sustainability criteria.
• Johor and the federal government are putting RM5 billion into three reservoirs and three treatment plants.

No blanket moratorium has been gazetted. The approach is case-by-case tightening, not a freeze.

How many people do they employ? The honest answer

• Nationally, the 27 projects approved by the Data Centre Task Force are expected to create 4,053 jobs, of which 3,523 are high-skilled, with Malaysians expected to fill 89.21% of the high-skilled roles.
• In Johor, the Menteri Besar said in August 2025 that the 42 projects should bring more than 6,000 quality jobs, and that Johor would account for 78.6% of Malaysia’s operational data centre IT capacity.
• On pay: in July 2024 the Menteri Besar said the state was exploring an RM7,000 starting salary for AI and data centre roles. That is an aspiration, not policy. The JS-SEZ target starting salary for graduates is RM4,000.

Where the clusters are

• Nusajaya / Iskandar Puteri: DayOne NTP, Equinix JH1, AirTrunk JHB2, the DayOne Gerbang Nusajaya land
• Sedenak / Kulai: Princeton Digital JH1, Bridge MY06, Vantage (formerly Yondr); Sedenak Tech Park sits inside the 7,290-acre Sedenak Technology Valley
• Kulai: YTL Green Data Center Park, QUANTUM Edge, Microsoft’s first plot
• Kempas: DayOne’s KTP campus
• Tebrau: Microsoft’s second plot
• Kota Tinggi: Digital Edge, the newest of them

These districts are a different proposition from the checkpoint corridor — different distances, different buyers, different tenants. The Johor Bahru project list is ranked by distance to the checkpoint, and every page carries the declared price range, the title, the unit count and the advertising permit number.

Frequently asked questions

How many data centres does Johor have?

It depends on the counting basis. The Menteri Besar’s Q2 2025 figure was 42 approved projects worth RM164.45 billion. A state exco member said on 25 October 2026 that, counted by land plot, it is 65. Of the 27 projects approved by the national Data Centre Task Force, 16 are in Johor. The state also says 21 are currently operating. These are different methods, not contradictions.

Will data centres leave Johor short of water or power?

The state is already tightening. Since late 2025 it has not approved less efficient Tier 1 and Tier 2 facilities; in March 2026 the Menteri Besar said water-intensive projects will not be approved, with households first; SPAN requires reclaimed water for cooling as the first option. On power, TNB has signed 8.3GW of supply agreements with 68% of that in Johor, all take-or-pay, and the state plans about 5GW more solar by 2030–2031. Johor and the federal government are also spending RM5 billion on three reservoirs and three treatment plants.

Is it worth buying property near a data centre?

Do not accept a premium simply because there is a data centre nearby. They occupy a lot of land and draw a lot of power, but employ relatively few people — 4,053 jobs across the 27 nationally approved projects. Housing demand comes from labour-intensive industry and the JS-SEZ roles. What to look at instead is the employment density of the area, the drive to the checkpoint and the city, and who actually rents there — all of which you can check on the project list and the area pages.

Which districts are Johor’s data centres in?

Mainly two clusters: Nusajaya / Iskandar Puteri and Sedenak / Kulai, with further projects in Kempas, Tebrau and, most recently, Kota Tinggi. All of them sit some distance from the Johor Bahru checkpoint, and follow a different logic from the checkpoint-corridor residential market.

Why do different summary tables give such different totals?

Because they add together four different kinds of money: project investment, construction cost, financing facility and land purchase price. A financing facility can include refinancing existing debt, and a land price is only a small slice of a project. Before comparing two tables, check that the amount-type column lines up.

Related

• Johor: 83 projects, RM167.4 billion, 200,000 jobs by 2030
• Malaysia’s median salary is RM3,000 — which price band that puts you in
• Every Johor Bahru project, ranked by distance to the checkpoint

Sources

1. 42 approved projects worth RM164.45 billion, more than 6,000 jobs, 78.6% of national IT capacity: Menteri Besar Onn Hafiz Ghazi, social media post of 13 August 2025, reported the same day by Malay Mail and New Straits Times; figures as at Q2 2025.
2. 27 projects approved by the national Data Centre Task Force at an estimated RM225.97 billion, 16 of them in Johor, 1 operating and 26 under construction, minimum 30% local content, 4,053 jobs of which 3,523 high-skilled and 89.21% expected to be filled by Malaysians: Digital Ministry written parliamentary reply, reported 15 October 2026 by EdgeProp and The Edge.
3. 65 approved projects counted by land plot, 21 operating drawing close to 1.1GW, a further 4 to 5GW needed, about 5GW of additional solar by 2030–2031, and JPPPDNJ approval: Lee Ting Han, Johor exco member for Investment, Trade, Consumer Affairs and Human Resources, 25 October 2026, The Edge Malaysia.
4. TNB supply agreements for 59 projects totalling 8.3GW, 68% in Johor, take-or-pay for the first five years: RHB Research, via The Star, “Data centre demand to energise TNB growth”, 13 July 2026.
5. YTL Green Data Center Park at 275 acres and 500MW: YTL Group website. The RM15 billion figure is the investment the state government said at the 25 August 2022 groundbreaking it expects over ten years, reported the same day by Bernama and The Star; YTL Power’s RM1.5b phase 1 and Sea’s RM1.5b are from the same reports.
6. AirTrunk JHB1 at 10.3 hectares, combined construction cost of RM9.7 billion (A$3.5 billion), combined IT load over 420MW: MIDA republishing New Straits Times, 14 February 2025; Mingtiandi, 19 January 2023.
7. DayOne RM15 billion green financing (RM7.5b Islamic facility plus US$1.7b offshore term loan, for refinancing and capex across Nusajaya Tech Park and Kempas Tech Park): The Edge Malaysia, 11 June 2026.
8. DayOne Gerbang Nusajaya 26.42 hectares, RM398.11 million cash, seller Paragon Globe, land in Mukim Tanjung Kupang: The Edge Malaysia, June 2026; EdgeProp shareholder-approval report, 28 October 2026.
9. Princeton Digital Group JH1 at 31 acres, RM2 billion project investment, 150MW campus with a 60MW phase 1: JLand Group press release, 22 May 2023.
10. Bridge Data Centres MY06 at about 40 acres, RM2.5 billion over five years, 100MW IT load: MIDA media release, 2 December 2021.
11. Vantage (formerly Yondr) JHB1 at nearly 73 acres and over 300MW, project cost not published; the US$1.6 billion is GIC and ADIA equity into Vantage’s APAC platform: Vantage press release via Businesswire, 23 November 2025.
12. Equinix JH1 in Nusajaya Tech Park, initial investment of about US$40 million (RM188 million), an 1,800 sqm two-storey facility with up to 500 cabinets: MIDA republishing The Malaysian Reserve, 12 June 2024; Equinix website.
13. Microsoft Kulai 123.141 acres for RM402.3 million (RM75 psf, June 2024, park then named Eco Business Park VI) and Tebrau 138.532 acres for RM693.96 million (RM115 psf, February 2025): The Edge Malaysia, 18 February 2025; Free Malaysia Today, 10 June 2024.
14. Digital Edge 49.72 acres freehold for RM346.53 million (RM160 psf) at Bandar Cemerlang, Mukim and District of Kota Tinggi, seller Crescendo: The Edge Malaysia and EdgeProp, April 2026; Bursa filing 9 April 2026.
15. KNBDC Malaysia Five 49.588 acres for RM280.8 million at QUANTUM Edge, Kulai, seller EcoWorld: The Edge Malaysia, 24 April 2026.
16. Tier 1 and Tier 2 approvals halted from late 2025, SPAN reclaimed-water guidelines of September 2025, the Menteri Besar’s 10 March 2026 statement on water-intensive projects, about 30% of bids rejected in 2024 on sustainability grounds, and RM5 billion for three reservoirs and three treatment plants: Malay Mail, 10 March 2026; Bernama, 8 April 2026; Malay Mail, 20 November 2024.
17. The RM7,000 starting salary for AI and data centre roles as something being explored: Menteri Besar, reported by The Sun, 29 July 2024 — exploratory, not policy. JS-SEZ graduate starting salary target of RM4,000: Malay Mail, 9 July 2025.

This page is general information and commentary. It is not investment advice and contains no return projections. Every amount is classified according to how the official source described it, and anything unpublished is stated as such. Investment figures, land areas and progress are subject to later official announcements. Last verified: 29 October 2026.