🏗️💾 Revolutionizing the Digital Age: Government's New Guidelines for Data Centres Will Change the Game!

Here’s what we got for you today:

• 🇲🇾 In Malaysia: Oracle has announced plans to invest over $6.5 billion in Malaysia

• 🏗️ Project of the Day: Malaysia’s First Apple Store

•  🌊 In the SEA: Punggol Coast station on the North East Line (NEL) in Singapore will start operating on 10/12/2024

• 🧠 Knowledge Corner: Derivation of dead loads

In Malaysia 🇲🇾

1. Oracle has announced plans to invest over $6.5 billion in setting up its first public cloud region in Malaysia. This is part of a trend of major tech firms investing in Malaysia, including Microsoft, Nvidia, Google, and ByteDance, mostly in cloud services and data centres due to the growing demand for artificial intelligence. The cloud region will help organizations in Malaysia modernize their applications, migrate workload to the cloud, and innovate with data, analytics, and AI. This investment will allow Malaysian customers to use cloud services based within the country. Oracle's revenue forecast has been raised, indicating rising demand for its cloud services. The company plans to expand across Asia and has existing facilities in Singapore. Other tech giants like Microsoft and Amazon have also announced significant cloud services investments in Southeast Asia, and Google has broken ground on a $2 billion data centre in Malaysia.

2. Tropicana Corp is selling land in Johor to CTMSB for RM240mil. CTMSB, a subsidiary of Chinese company ZData, plans to use the land to establish a data centre hub. This is part of Johor's growth as a digital infrastructure hub in Southeast Asia.

3. Malaysia is committed to transitioning to cleaner and sustainable energy alternatives and aims to increase the use of renewable energy sources. This will be achieved by phasing out coal power, investing in smart grids and energy storage systems, and promoting cross-border renewable energy trade. Malaysia also plans to attract foreign investments to drive its green economy.

4. The Cabinet has approved new guidelines for data centres to simplify the planning and approval process, promote ease of business, and support digital infrastructure. The guidelines were developed by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government to standardize and streamline the application and planning approval process for stakeholders in the data centre industry. The GPP covers site planning guidelines, development plan applications, and procedures for data centre developments exceeding one megavolt ampere. The guidelines also include measures to ensure that data centres are located in appropriate land use zones to prevent disturbances to residential areas. The goal is to support the development of digital infrastructure and attract more foreign investors to Malaysia. The guidelines will be tabled at the National Council for Local Government Authorities meeting and distributed to 156 local authorities. Malaysia aims to become the largest data centre hub in ASEAN in the next few years. Currently, there are 32 operational data centres and 19 under construction in Malaysia, with Cyberjaya, Kuala Lumpur, and Johor being the main focus areas.

5. The Selangor state government will exempt property developers from development charges for affordable housing projects starting in January 2025. They aim to provide 200,000 affordable homes by 2028 and are encouraging sustainable practices. The convention also discusses topics such as fire safety and sustainable urban development.

Project of the Day 🏗️

Designed by Foster Partners, the first Apple Store in Malaysia boasts a stunning louvered white dome that not only filters light but also shields visitors from the city's unpredictable weather.

In the SEA 🌊

1. Punggol Coast station on the North East Line (NEL) in Singapore will start operating on Dec 10, 2024. It will be the new terminal station on the NEL and is located in the Punggol Digital District, with easy access to the JTC Business Park, the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) campus, and Punggol Coast Mall. The station will have two entrances, bicycle parking, and eco-friendly features. Its opening will improve connectivity and shorten travel times for over 200,000 households.

   

Knowledge Corner 🧠

Definition of Dead Load Elements Within a Structure

Building elements that are considered to be part of the self-weight of the construction form the dead load of the structure. Examples include:

• Self-weight of the structure elements i.e. beams columns and floor slabs

• Finishes e.g. screeds and ceilings and ceiling finishes. These are also sometimes referred to as ‘super imposed dead loads’

• Building services installations, such as ducts, cable containment, small pipes and lighting

• Soil

• Fixed partitions, i.e. those that cannot be demounted and placed elsewhere and non-load-bearing walls

There are many elements that are often mistaken as being a part of the self-weight of construction when they are imposed load elements:

• Moveable partitions

• Plant room installations, such as air handling units and boilers

• Cradles for maintenance access, but not the secondary support beams and rails they are fixed to

• Sports and gym equipment such as goal posts, basketball hoops and punch bags

• Audio and video equipment installations, including speaker clusters, televisions and lighting rigs

That’s a wrap for today. See you call tomorrow! 👋

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