AREA Real Estate Advisory Sdn Bhd (AREA) will develop a 60.7-hectare land within the Delapan Special Border Economic Zone (Delapan SBEZ) in Kedah, exclusively for data centres with a gross development value of RM15 billion.

The regional-based private equity firm has signed a heads of agreement (HoA) with Northern Gateway Sdn Bhd, the master developer of the Delapan SBEZ, to acquire the land in Bukit Kayu Hitam.

The development, according to AREA chairman Datuk Stewart LaBrooy, seeks to be a catalyst for high-value job creation among users of cloud services and storage as well as an incentive for server and data centre equipment manufacturers to localise production.

“The development will also adopt green sustainability initiatives to reduce the carbon footprint of the data centre park, with the first phase of development slated to commence in the fourth quarter of 2023,” he said in a statement.

The 4,400-acre Delapan SBEZ features a free commercial and industrial zone and is strategically located at the northern end of the North–South Expressway at the border crossing to Thailand.

The North–South Expressway is connected to Thailand’s Route 4 or Phetkasem Road, which goes all the way to Bangkok.

It also has access to the Bukit Kayu Hitam Inland Port.