Pacnet has opened its Tier III data center in Chongqing, China, bolstering coverage of its network in China and adding to its advanced data center footprint in the Asia Pacific region. 

Located in Chongqing’s Shuitu Hi-tech Industrial Park in Liangjiang New Area, the standalone facility delivers 14,000 sq m of carrier-neutral data center space.

It will be capable of supporting up to 2,000 high power density racks with available rack power up to 12 kVA, and has a Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) ratio of 1.6 achieved through the use of energy-efficient power and cooling systems and modular interior design, adhering to stringent international environmental and power efficiency standards.

The opening follows closely on the heels of several recent developments that have expanded the reach and capacity of Pacnet’s network in China and the region.

The data center fully harnesses Pacnet’s infrastructure in Asia Pacific as it provides direct access to Points of Presence (PoPs) in China as well as Pacnet’s wholly-owned subsea cable network.

Pacnet said it will serve the company’s growing body of enterprise and carrier customers doing business in China and seeking access to one of the world’s largest and fastest growing digital populations.

"Located in a bustling economic zone being developed as mainland China's new hub for manufacturing, logistics and transport, this new world-class facility will support industry and economic growth in China’s southwest region," said Henry Lam, general manager of Pacnet Business Solutions (China).

The facility will have fully redundant power and cooling systems, advanced fire detection and suppression systems, as well as state-of-the-art security access systems.

"The opening of this data center is another significant milestone in Pacnet’s ability to provide network carriers and enterprises with the high-capacity data, network management and e-commerce needs to serve the online community in China,” Jim Fagan, Pacnet president of managed services, said.

“A booming economy and an increasingly Internet-savvy population are driving the growth of data center services in the country.”

Fagan said Pacent is the only foreign equity joint venture to provide this level of service in Chongqing.

Speaking at the official opening ceremony, Huang Qifan, mayor of Chongqing, said: "The Pacnet Chongqing Data Center will play a significant role in advancing Chongqing to be at the forefront of the cloud computing industry in China, and in accelerating the economic development of Chongqing as well as the Liangjiang New Area."

Frost & Sullivan estimates that China’s data center services market is growing at a compound annual growth rate of 26% per year and will reach US$3.2bn in 2017. In particular, the proliferation of online gaming, social networking, search engines and content providers will spur demand for third-party data centers.

Pacnet has recently announced several expansion plans for China including the launch of new content delivery network (CDN) PoPs and plans for a data center in Tianjin capable of holding 2,000 racks.

In addition, Pacnet Business Solutions (China) is the first Sino-foreign telecommunications joint venture to receive licenses to provide IP VPN service across 23 provinces and Internet data centers in China. 

“Pacnet and Pacnet Business Solutions (China) have taken significant steps to enhance the competitiveness of their offerings in China,” said Grace Guang, Pacnet’s chief of staff and general counsel with oversight responsibility for the China business.

Pacnet currently operates data centers across 16 cities in Asia Pacific that are interconnected by Pacnet's high speed network.