Up to three data centers are expected to sign agreements with the Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport Authority (APECO) this year, driven by growing interest from firms in energy and information technology (IT) solutions.

APECO President and Chief Executive Officer Gil Taway disclosed this in a media interview following the memorandum of understanding (MOU) signing ceremony with Filipino-Japanese internet service provider InfiniVAN Inc. in Makati City on Friday.

Taway said the freeport authority began receiving inquiries from data center operators after announcing on its Facebook page the entry of the internet service provider into APECO.

“We are currently in talks with some data centers. But I don’t know if they will operate as commercial or hyperscalers,” he said.

Data centers house computer systems for various firms, while hyperscalers, as the name implies, are designed to handle large workloads for companies with global operations.

Taway noted that these facilities are expected to benefit significantly from the digital infrastructure that InfiniVAN, a subsidiary of Japan-listed telecommunications firm IPS Inc., plans to develop within APECO.

Under the MOU, the two parties aim to establish a terrestrial — or overland — connection within APECO in Casiguran, Aurora. This will link the ecozone to existing and upcoming international submarine cable landing stations in Baler, Aurora, as well as subsea cable capacities in Claveria, Cagayan.

Officials from both parties said the partnership is expected to strengthen APECO’s capacity to support rising global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) computing in interconnected data centers locally and abroad.

“The convergence of digital and energy infrastructure is expected to create employment opportunities for local communities. As we attract data centers and energy investments, we also open up opportunities for the people of Aurora,” Taway said in his speech.

“While data centers themselves are self-sustaining with smaller teams, it has a multiplier effect in the allied industries that provide support to these datacenter facilities. This means more jobs, more skills development, and more inclusive economic growth,” he added.

InfiniVAN Inc. group advisor Alejandro Aquino said in the same briefing that the company is allocating around PHP4 million per kilometer of fiber optic cable to connect APECO to its facility in Baler, a distance of about 100 kilometers.

He added that while using existing electrical utility lines would be more cost-effective, Aurora’s exposure to typhoons makes underground installation a more reliable option.

“Fiber optic is glass so when electric posts fell your internet connection will be cut. So, we prefer to do it underground,” he said in a mix of Filipino and English. (PNA)