The first phase will cost $144 million. SG5 plans to open in first half of 2021, with capacity of 1,300 cabinets in the first phase.
The company said that the data centre is "aligned with Singapore's Smart Nation initiative", which was launched by prime minister Lee Hsien Loong in November 2014. In 2017 the government pledged $1.7 billion to develop information and communication technology (ICT).
In 2020 the Singapore government announced it will spend $3.5bn on ICT, an increase of 30% on the $2.7bn spent last year. The money was intended to help people in Singapore resume normal activities during the coronavirus pandemic, said the government technology agency in a press release in June.
