Southeast Asia Information Port (www.dnyxxg.com) – An investment boom in AI-powered data centers is rapidly spreading in Vietnam. A series of domestic and international companies have announced multi-billion dollar projects, making Vietnam a rising destination for AI infrastructure in the region.
Racing to Build AI Data Centers
Recently, Kinh Bac Urban Development Corporation (KBC) signed a cooperation agreement with Accelerated Infrastructure Capital Group (AIC) and Vietin Bank. According to the agreement, a large-scale data center project will be built in the Tân Phú Trung Industrial Zone in Ho Chi Minh City, with an investment of approximately US$1.2 billion to construct a data campus with a designed capacity of 200 megawatts of IT load and equipped with approximately 10,000 GPU systems.
Previously, Ho Chi Minh City also welcomed a data center project with a total investment of approximately US$2 billion from a joint venture between G42 of the UAE, Microsoft of the US, FPT of Vietnam, VinaCapital, and Viet Thanh. This project is positioned as an "AI Factory," providing AI and advanced cloud infrastructure solutions to Asia and the world.
Viettel is also leading the way with two AI-enabled projects. In April of this year, Viettel broke ground on a 140-megawatt data center in the Tan Phu Trung Industrial Zone. This project ranks among the top ten data projects in Southeast Asia. In August, Viettel began construction on the An Khanh Data Center, valued at approximately VND 17.5 trillion, inheriting the AI technology developed by the company. It is expected to become the company's second-largest hyperscale data center by 2030. A joint venture between Vietnam's VNG company and Global Data Centers, a strategic partner of Japan's NTT Group, has also just launched construction on two data centers in Ho Chi Minh City, expected to be completed in 2026.
This demonstrates that Vietnam is entering a phase of explosive growth in AI data centers. According to Deloitte's forecast, Vietnam's AI market will reach $65 billion by 2035, with $25 billion coming from AI data centers.
A report by the Vietnam Data Center and Cloud Computing Club also shows that Vietnam's cloud computing market size will reach $1.24 billion in 2025 and $2.5 billion by 2029; data center capacity will increase from 525 MW in 2025 to 1000 MW in 2030.
Opportunities for Breakthroughs
Vladimir Kangin, CEO of IPTP Networks, who is investing $200 million in building an AI data center in the Da Nang High-Tech Park, stated, "The Vietnamese market has huge potential. Early investment will allow us to seize opportunities; investing 5 to 10 years later will mean missing out." He also suggested that the Vietnamese government allow network operators to utilize the power transmission infrastructure to install cables, reducing new investment costs while improving energy policies and encouraging the development of power plants, including nuclear power plants, to serve AI data centers.
Dang Song Son, Vice President of Strategic Economics at CMC, stated that Vietnam has the lowest investment and operation costs for data centers in the region, approximately $6 million to $7 million per megawatt, 40-60% cheaper than Singapore.
Furthermore, Vietnam's data legal system is becoming increasingly完善 (perfected/comprehensive). Vietnam's strategic geographical location, well-connected infrastructure, and the rapid development of artificial intelligence, cloud computing, financial technology, and e-commerce have led to a surge in data demand.
However, to attract more investment, Vietnam needs to take measures as soon as possible to overcome bottlenecks, such as ensuring a stable power supply, simplifying project approval procedures, expanding international transmission infrastructure, developing high-quality human resources, and improving climate adaptability. (End)
