Johor Bahru, 6 December 2022 – JLand Group Sdn Bhd (“JLG”), the real estate and infrastructure arm and wholly owned subsidiary of Johor Corporation (JCorp), has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Mitsui & Co., Ltd., through its wholly owned subsidiary Mitsui & Co. (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. (“Mitsui”), to jointly explore prospective business opportunities and strategic project developments in Ibrahim Technopolis (IBTEC) including Sedenak Tech Park (STeP), over the next two to three years. The signing ceremony was witnessed by YAB Datuk Onn Hafiz bin Ghazi, Menteri Besar Johor.
Within the immediate term of the MOU, JLG and Mitsui will conduct a joint feasibility study on the development of a Hyperscale Data Centre, as well as a renewable energy (RE) facility in the form of a Captive Solar Farm to power the data centres in STeP. Following the completion of the study, JLG and Mitsui and its co-developers will form a joint venture (JV) partnership to invest, develop and operate these projects.
YBhg Datuk Syed Mohamed Syed Ibrahim, President and Chief Executive of JCorp and Chairman of JLG said, “This strategic collaboration with Mitsui is a testament to our sustainable-driven projects and dedicated focus on enabling corporations to meet their ESG goals. In an increasingly data-dependent digital economy, we are proactively identifying and implementing renewable energy sources for the future of decarbonising data centres. This initiative is one of the major milestones for JCorp’s vision of a sustainable future, while ensuring the state and country meets its decarbonisation aspirations.”
YBhg Datuk Sr Akmal Ahmad, Director, Real Estate and Infrastructure Division, JCorp said, “The MOU between JLG and Mitsui reflects the commitment displayed by responsible corporates to shift towards cleaner energy sources to power their businesses. Our strategic partnership to develop these high-value sustainable projects brings together collective industry knowledge and technical expertise to further transform the energy industry. JLG is proud to reinforce our contribution to Johor’s renewable energy goals, while catering to the growing needs of industrial customers in STeP that requires green and clean energy as secondary power supply.”
“The positive boom of the data centre sector over the past years has brought the importance of sustainability and renewable energy to the fore, as data centre operators explore cleaner technologies to turn operations green. We are proud to be among the pioneers in hyperscale green data centres in Johor and are excited to partner with Mitsui and RE co-developer to advance the decarbonisation of data centres through clean power procurement,” added Datuk Akmal.
Under this strategic collaboration, STeP –– the flagship 700-acre data centre hub –– is poised to attract the global hyperscale data centres, not only by offering future availability of RE, but also with comprehensive supporting packages including competitive green project financing from the market. This will provide excellent opportunities for regional customers seeking green data centres to meet their needs.
The collaboration will also involve other industry partners as co-developers, who will contribute sector expertise and knowledge transfer throughout the project investment, design, development, and maintenance phases.
As part of the MOU, JLG and Mitsui will also explore other potential investment ventures within the Group’s portfolios, including Ibrahim Technopolis (IBTEC) which focuses on advanced industrial developments and environmentally friendly technologies, as well as the port business. The areas of interest may include, but not limited to Renewable Energy, Digital & Mobility Infrastructure and High-Tech Industrial Development.
