Keppel Capital, the asset management arm of Singapore’s conglomerate Keppel Group, has agreed to invest 1.5 billion yuan (US$213.8 million) to build a data centre in Huizhou, boosting the city’s ambition to create the IT backbone for southern China’s Greater Bay Area. The data centre, located in Tonghu Smart City, an industrial complex developed by Country Garden Holdings, will have gross floor area (GFA) of 45,000 square metres (486,700 square feet) when construction is completed in 2022, according to a statement. Alpha Data Centre Fund, managed by Keppel Capital’s wholly-owned subsidiary Alpha Investment Partners, is responsible for the data centre project in Tonghu. The deal marked the fund's first asset in China, in tandem with the country’s pursuit of a new infrastructure campaign focusing on information-based, converged and innovative infrastructure, Alpha Investment’s chief executive Alvin Mah said in a statement. The data centre will be the second by Keppel in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) after one in Hong Kong. The GBA, a cluster of 11 cities in southern China including Hong Kong and Macau, is estimated to have a combined economic output of US$1.5 trillion, which would make it the world’s 13th-largest economy after South Korea if it were a stand-alone entity. Total population in the area is projected to grow to 100 million by 2035, from the current 70 million. Alpha Investment said it would collaborate with data centre operator Shenzhen Huateng Smart Technology to run it based on the world’s highest standard on data hubs. The data centre will fit more than 6,000 high-density racks and another 50,000 sq metres of floor area could be added for expansion in future, which would bring the total size to 95,000 sq metres. ‘Made in China 2025’: China sees 5G as gateway to the industrial internet Alpha Investment took over the role of building the data centre at Tonghu Smart City from Huizhou Bike Property, a fully owned subsidiary of Country Garden. The deal, signed on Thursday, came three weeks after Hebei-based data processing company Runze Technology Development poured 6 billion yuan to create an information port in the city dubbed China’s Miami, owing to its reputation as a low-cost, fair weathered location much beloved by pensioners. In February, Huizhou’s local economic planning agency unveiled 942 billion yuan master plan to build infrastructure including a 5G telecommunications backbone , network to support the internet of things (IoT) , data processing and an intercity rail network. Tighter rules in Shenzhen may see homebuyers flock to ‘investor paradise’ Huizhou Tax incentives, proper allocation of land to facilitate investment in IT infrastructure and easy credit granted to technology firms could benefit Huizhou in attracting top-class companies, said Carlby Xie, director of Savills Southern China Research. “The local government is supposed to play a leading role in luring powerful industrial players,” he said. “Huizhou has the potential in attracting domestic and multinational giants given its geographic location.” Early this month, Huizhou secured two hi-tech projects with a combined investment of 5 billion yuan. Huizhou, ‘China’s Miami’, beckons to retirees seeking to escape Hong Kong The city signed an agreement with Shenzhen Sinlikon Supply Chain Management to develop an industrial estate that will specialise in 5G telecommunication technology. It has also succeeded in drawing China’s leading robotics firm, Hit Robot Group, to set up a research and development centre. Huizhou’s economy was once driven by the pillar industries of electronics and petrochemicals. But it hit a blip last year as the US-China trade war led to plant closures and declines in exports. The city is chasing growth in industries like IT logistics, tourism, finance and other emerging industries.