MEGAWIDE Construction Corp. signed a shareholders’ agreement with a Singapore-based group for a $300-million or about P16.5-billion data center project as part of its plan of pivoting toward digital infrastructure.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the construction company said it signed on Feb. 28 the agreement with Evolution Data Centres Pte. Ltd. (EDC), Evolution Data Centres Philippines, Inc., and Evolution DC Capital Pte. Ltd.
“Megawide is very excited about this venture because it represents the company’s first investment in the digital infrastructure space,” Megawide’s Chief Business Development Officer Jaime Raphael C. Feliciano said.
“Digitalization has greatly affected enterprises and consumers alike and data centers are at the very core of this new reality,” he added.
The project will involve the long-term development of a 69-megawatt (MW) colocation data center in Cavite. Its first phase will cover a 23-MW deployment spread over five years inside a four-hectare property.
“Rising data consumption and strong governmental support for digital transformation are causing hyper-scalers and cloud service providers to consider the Philippines as they expand their operations,” EDC Chief Executive Officer Darren Webb said.
“We are delighted to be partnering with Megawide to develop this innovative data center in this exciting high-growth region,” he added.
Megawide described EDC as “among the fastest-growing players in large-scale digital infrastructure development, deploying data center capacity, at scale, across multiple high-growth markets in Asia-Pacific.”
According to the disclosure, the transaction is still subject to the approval of the Philippine Competition Commission and all closing conditions. The approval is expected to be within the next 30 to 60 days.
Once cleared, Megawide and EDC are set to enter into subscription agreements for shares in Evolution Data Centres Philippines and a company to be set up to hold land for the data centers. Megawide is expected to own around 49% and 60% of the outstanding capital stock of the two new entities, respectively.
Megawide operates the Mactan-Cebu International Airport and landport Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange.
On the stock market on Wednesday, Megawide shares lost 43 centavos or 10.91% to P3.51 each. — Justine Irish D. Tabile
