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The data center market continues to experience rapid growth due to advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) technology and the expanding use of cloud services. This article will highlight a noteworthy announcement from major Japanese construction company Obayashi Corporation regarding its domestic data center business.

Announcement of Entry into Urban Data Center Development Business in Central Tokyo

Obayashi Corporation has officially announced its full-scale entry into the urban data center development business. At the end of November, it established a new subsidiary, MiTASUN Corporation, to undertake the development and operation of urban data centers in central Tokyo.

Leveraging its expertise cultivated through previous construction and development projects, Obayashi will act as the project owner, renovating and rebuilding office buildings in urban areas into small-scale data centers. It plans to establish multiple small-scale data centers within an 8km radius and connect them with dedicated optical fiber lines to create a data center cluster. The aim is to secure a scale equivalent to a large-scale (hyperscale) data center with the combined capacity of this cluster.

Project Aiming for a Sustainable Society

MiTASUN has announced plans to invest approximately 100 billion yen in data center development in central Tokyo within the next 10 years. As its first project in fiscal year 2028, it will construct a new small-scale data center in Mita, Tokyo, with a receiving capacity of approximately 5.5MW, a common metric for data center size. Furthermore, it has already secured land for its second project in Tokyo, approximately 6km away from the first, with the goal of establishing a 40MW-class data center cluster by fiscal year 2031.

The company also plans to actively pursue alliances with other companies and implement the following measures:

• Converting buildings owned by other companies into data centers
• Interconnecting with other data center operators
• Continuously expanding facility scale
   

The Obayashi Group aims to contribute to the advancement of urban infrastructure and realize a sustainable society through this new business venture.

Expectations for Urban Data Center Business Development

Demand for data centers is expected to continue growing, especially in central urban areas. Will Obayashi Corporation’s urban data center business become a new model case for urban development? There are high expectations for its future development, leveraging the technical capabilities cultivated in its construction business and the know-how gained from its development projects.