Asia Pacific's data centre development pipeline reached a record 26.5GW in the first half of 2026, with the region adding 7.1GW in six months, according to Cushman & Wakefield.
The total includes 4.8GW under construction and 21.7GW of planned capacity. Another 1.4GW of operational capacity was delivered during the half, even as colocation vacancy fell to 10.3% from 10.9% in the second half of 2025.
The figures point to continued demand for digital infrastructure across Asia Pacific as cloud groups, hyperscalers and artificial intelligence platforms expand their regional footprint. At the same time, power supply is becoming a bigger constraint on where new facilities can be built.
Andrew Green, Head of Data Centre Group, Asia Pacific, at Cushman & Wakefield, said power availability is reshaping site selection.
"AI and cloud investment across Asia Pacific has entered a phase of rapid, power-constrained execution. The challenge increasingly lies in securing the power infrastructure needed to support the next generation of AI workloads. Historically, data centres were clustered around connectivity, but now we're seeing expansion gravitate towards markets that can provide power at scale. This is creating new growth corridors across the region and accelerating investment beyond traditional data centre hubs," Green said.
South-East Asia
South-East Asia accounted for about half of all under-construction capacity in Asia Pacific, making it the region's largest concentration of active projects. Malaysia led with 1,039MW under construction, followed by Thailand with 859MW.
Much of that growth is centred on Johor and Bangkok. Johor's under-construction capacity nearly doubled to 602MW in the first half, while Bangkok posted one of the region's fastest expansion rates, with capacity under construction rising 148% to 859MW.
Johor also had the largest combined total of operational and future capacity in Asia Pacific, exceeding 4GW. It retained the top spot in Cushman & Wakefield's regional data centre maturity index, which tracks 30 markets and groups them by development level and growth potential.
Elsewhere, Sydney, Mumbai and Jakarta also recorded large increases in development pipelines. Sydney reached 2,134MW, up 65%, with planned capacity rising 83% to 2,018MW and operational capacity increasing 17% to 917MW.
Bangkok's overall pipeline stood at 2,084MW, up 99%, while Mumbai reached 1,726MW, up 31%, and Jakarta climbed 56% to 1,699MW. Jakarta's under-construction capacity more than doubled to 395MW, and Mumbai's operational capacity rose 16% to 890MW.
Changing builds
Alongside the increase in raw capacity, developers are changing how they design and deliver facilities. The shift reflects pressure to bring supply to market faster while managing denser computing environments and tighter infrastructure constraints.
Pritesh Swamy, Head of Research & Consulting for the Data Centre Group in Asia Pacific, said operators are moving away from conventional approaches.
"We're seeing developers move beyond traditional data centre blueprints as infrastructure requirements become more demanding. In most markets, speed to market is increasingly shaping development decisions. Modular construction approaches and advanced cooling technologies are helping operators maximise available infrastructure while shortening deployment timelines. As computing environments become denser, operators are also placing greater emphasis on resource efficiency and long-term sustainability, including how power and water are managed as facilities scale," Swamy said.
The revised maturity index also reflects how quickly the sector is expanding. Cushman & Wakefield raised the thresholds used to rank markets in the latest update, leading to several reclassifications as operational capacity and development pipelines grew across the region.
The changes suggest the gap between established hubs and newer markets is narrowing, particularly in places able to secure electricity connections and large development sites. Traditional centres still hold strong positions, but growth is spreading more widely as occupiers look beyond long-standing clusters.
Australia, India, Japan and Malaysia are on track to surpass 2GW of operational capacity by 2028, according to the update. That would add to a regional market already being reshaped by rapid artificial intelligence investment and the practical limits of land, grid access and water use.
"The next wave of growth will be driven by markets that can successfully balance scale, power availability and long-term infrastructure readiness. While traditional hubs will remain critical to the digital economy, we're seeing a broader group of markets emerge as important destinations for future data centre investment, reflecting the growing depth and maturity of Asia Pacific's digital infrastructure landscape," Green said.