Penang is Malaysia’s semiconductor and electronics heartland, and its data centre market is growing to match. If you are looking for a Penang data center, Open DC runs two: PE1 in Penang Cybercity and PE2 in the Bayan Lepas Industrial Park. They do different jobs. This guide compares them side by side so you can […]
Penang is Malaysia’s semiconductor and electronics heartland, and its data centre market is growing to match. If you are looking for a Penang data center, Open DC runs two: PE1 in Penang Cybercity and PE2 in the Bayan Lepas Industrial Park. They do different jobs. This guide compares them side by side so you can choose the right one, or use both.
Industry on the doorstep. Penang’s chip designers, test houses and manufacturers increasingly run AI for design, yield and inspection. Compute next to the engineering team and the fab means less data moving long distances and faster iteration.
A different corridor from Johor. Johor holds roughly 80% of Malaysia’s data centre capacity. Penang offers a separate grid region and water catchment, which matters for a genuine second site and for avoiding the queues around Johor’s busiest substations.
Local interconnection. Penang has its own internet exchange, powered by DE-CIX Malaysia. Traffic between Penang networks can stay in Penang instead of travelling to Kuala Lumpur or Singapore and back.
Access. Both sites are close to Penang International Airport and the Bayan Lepas industrial zone.
PE1 is the right choice when connectivity matters more than power. It suits:
PE2 is the right choice when you need power, density or room to grow. It suits:
PE2 began operating in April 2025, and nearly 80% of its 30 MW first phase is already committed to customers across semiconductor, AI, cloud and enterprise workloads. That is a sign of demand, and a reason to talk to us early about the next phase.
Yes, and many customers should. PE1 and PE2 are joined by a data centre interconnect. A common design is compute and storage at PE2, with network and peering at PE1 on the Penang exchange and onward links to Kuala Lumpur through CJ1. Both sites give you DE-CIX access in Penang, so you can peer at either.
For a recovery site outside Penang, D8-1 in Kedah is certified TIA-942 Rated III, and Open DC’s Klang Valley and Johor sites are in different grid regions again.
Each corridor does a different job. Penang is not trying to replace Johor’s proximity to Singapore or the Klang Valley’s enterprise base. It serves the north, and it gives buyers a third option when the other two are crowded.
Penang’s factories and design houses are adopting AI for chip design, simulation, yield analysis and visual inspection. Those workloads are dense: GPU servers that draw tens of kilowatts per rack, sometimes more. Most older buildings in Penang were not designed for that, which is why new high-density halls are filling quickly.
That is the context for PE2’s numbers. A 30 MW first phase that is already about 80% committed, for a campus that opened in April 2025, tells you demand is real. It also tells you that if your AI roadmap needs dense capacity in Penang in 2027, the time to reserve it is now, not when the hardware arrives.
What should you check before choosing a Penang data center?
1. Energised versus planned capacity. Ask for live, reserved and sellable MW and dates.
2. Density per rack for the hardware you plan to deploy in two years, not just today.
3. Cooling method, and whether liquid cooling is installed or just possible.
4. Exchange and carriers on-net, and the link to Kuala Lumpur.
5. Certificates for any Tier or Rated claim.
6. Growth path on the same campus.
Open DC runs two data centres in Penang with different jobs. PE1 in Penang Cybercity is a compact, connected site with a DE-CIX Penang exchange node and links to Cyberjaya and Kuala Lumpur. PE2 in Bayan Lepas is a 10-acre, high-density campus: a 30 MW first phase now about 80% committed, new halls up to 150 kW per rack, and a phased path towards 100 MW. Use PE1 for reach, PE2 for power, or both together.
Book a PE2 tour and see the high-density halls, or talk to us about PE1 for peering in Penang.
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