Johor is one of the states that is quite popular for data center development due to its strategic location near the regional economic and technology hub of Singapore. AirTrunk, a hyperscale data center platform operator operating in the Middle East and Asia Pacific, recently announced the development of two new data centers in the state.
Named JHB3 and JHB4, these two additional AirTrunk data centers are expected to cost RM12 billion with an IT workload of 280MW to power the two IT infrastructures.
To facilitate operations, the two JHB 3 and JHB4 data centers will be built in the Iskandar Puteri area, close to the two existing AirTrunk data centers, namely JHB1 and JHB2. When combined, these four data centers will have an IT workload of 700MW.
With the addition of these two new data centres, AirTrunk will bring in a total investment of RM27 billion, of which RM5 billion will be channelled to other sectors such as development and others that will help build these new data centres when all four data centres are fully operational.
These data centres will be purpose-built to support cloud and AI processing workloads, featuring a flexible, scalable and resilient design. These data centres are also said to operate at significantly lower power consumption levels than conventional data centres.
The campuses will also include an advanced cooling system that uses 100 per cent recycled water, reducing any impact on local energy and water resources.
AirTrunk said that the 420MW IT processing capacity at its JHB1 and JHB2 data centres is almost 100 per cent marketed to customers, and as such, they are increasing capacity by building two more new data centres. The development of AirTrunk data centres is expected to generate 3000 new jobs in the development sector, employing local data centre workers and local suppliers and contractors.
They will also work with local academia to develop the capacity of the workforce which is expected to provide many high-skilled job opportunities in the future. These include:
A partnership with Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), providing STEM scholarships and industry engagement to support technology and engineering career paths. AirTrunk is also supporting Johor Digital Literacy Day 2025 in collaboration with ICDL
A partnership with Gravity Water and Water Watch Penang. AirTrunk will provide sustainable rainwater harvesting and purification solutions to advance education and water management initiatives that support long-term climate resilience
Through a partnership with MERCY Malaysia, AirTrunk will support flood resilience initiatives in Johor, alongside national disaster response efforts to strengthen community preparedness and resilience across Malaysia
