Equinix has announced plans to open its first data centre – dubbed KL1 –­ in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The new facility is scheduled to be operational in the first quarter of 2024, following Equinix’s announcement last year that it was expanding into Malaysia with its JH1 data centre in Johor.

KL1 will provide an initial capacity of 450 cabinets and colocation space of 1,300 sqm, expanding to a total of 900 cabinets and colocation space of 2,630 sqm once fully built out.

Equinix has said that its new facility aims to support the digital vision laid out in Malaysia’s MyDIGITAL blueprint to establish the country as a hub for colocation in ASEAN and a regional digital economic powerhouse.

“Over the past several years, we have witnessed Malaysia emerge as an increasingly strategic location for global digital infrastructure, and we believe it to be an attractive destination for data center growth and investment,” said Jeremy Deutsch, President, Asia-Pacific at Equinix.

“Following our initial investment in Johor, we are excited to add another data centre in Kuala Lumpur. By expanding Platform Equinix in the two most strategic metros in Malaysia, we will enable Malaysian businesses, as well as multinationals with a presence in Malaysia, to leverage a trusted platform to bring together and interconnect the foundational infrastructure to power their success. We believe the two data centres will fuel Equinix’s existing data centre momentum and support Malaysia’s aspirations as a digitally driven connectivity hub.”

Equinix currently operates 51 data centres in Asia-Pacific, across Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea and Singapore, with expansions announced in Indonesia and Malaysia.