Telecommunications giant PLDT Inc. has set its sights on constructing its 12th and largest data center in Cavite, pending the high occupancy rate of its facility in Sta. Rosa, Laguna, and a risk assessment study on the potential site.

VITRO Inc., the data center arm of PLDT, plans to build a data center on a property owned by Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) in General Trias, Cavite.

VITRO President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Victor Genuino said this site is now undergoing a vulnerability and risk assessment to determine if it’s a viable site for data centers following the recent onslaught of three successive storms.

Genuino said in April that construction on the data center will begin next year, with a completion target of 2028.

The facility will be built in phases using five prefabricated modules with a combined capacity of 100 megawatts (MW), making it PLDT’s largest data center to date.

The General Trias data center is estimated to cost ₱40 billion, double the expenditures for VITRO Sta. Rosa, the country’s first artificial intelligence (AI)-ready data center inaugurated earlier this year.

Genuino told reporters that these plans are still up in the air, as the company is opting to make its next move once VITRO Sta. Rosa achieves a high occupancy.

“Once it reaches a certain capacity of occupants and customers, then we can trigger the discussion already on data center 12,” said Genuino.

“What's important is we identify a site and then we identify and prepare already the ecosystem of partners that we will work with,” he added.

Genuino said the start of construction, including the planned investment, is still not finalized, as VITRO will first assess the emergence of new technologies.

He said the company wants to ensure that once the 12th data center is built, it will stay in tune with the rapidly evolving innovations in the sector.

The only certainty, he said, is that the facility will be capable of carrying as much as 100 MW to meet the growing demand of enterprises looking to harness AI.

“We have to put all of that together and decide what's the right build we need for the next data center,” said Genuino.

Genuino added that PLDT remains on track to sell 49 percent of its stake in data centers, which will help pare down the telco’s debts and support other financing needs.

He said the company is in talks with several interested parties for the potential sale, all of which are foreign firms.

The potential sale is valued at around $1 billion, which is expected to increase as VITRO continues to grow its revenues.

VITRO and its parent subsidiary, ePLDT Inc., posted a 15 percent increase in combined revenues to ₱3.1 billion from January to June, driven by growth in multi-cloud and cybersecurity solutions.

VITRO also recorded a 36 percent rise in colocation revenues, driven by strong demand from financial institutions, public sector clients, and hyperscalers.

PLDT earlier shelved plans to sell its stake in VITRO to Japan’s Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. (NTT), which had sought a majority share, and instead shifted its focus to expansion.

“It's a very critical asset, not only for the PLDT group but for the nation. So we just want to make sure that we find the right partner for it,” said Genuino.

VITRO has a total capacity of 100 MW across its 11 data centers nationwide.