The Speed, Scale and Story Behind Malaysia’s Next Data Centre
Scott Lyall has spent much of his career delivering major Australian transport and infrastructure programmes and working within large, integrated teams on complex projects. When he arrived in Malaysia to support one of the region’s largest new data centre developments, a natural question followed: How does a background in transport translate to hyperscale data centre delivery?
Months earlier, TSA Riley had partnered with Real Project Management (RPM) to pursue an opportunity in Malaysia’s fast-growing data centre market. James Marsden, our National Project Management Lead, and Project Director James Paddock asked Scott to lead the start-up phase. “I am always open to new experiences and new learning opportunities,” Scott says. “This project was both, so I said yes.”
From Mars to Megawatts: The Reality of Fast-Tracked Data Centre Delivery
That decision took Scott to Elmina Township, a major Sime Darby Property development north-west of Kuala Lumpur. It is a long-term project covering staged residential areas, recreation spaces, retail precincts and 2 business parks. The southern business park already has a smaller data centre under construction. The northern business park, approximately 182ha, is now beginning its major commercial build-out.
To reach the site, Scott travelled via 4WD along a 3km temporary earthworks road through cleared palm plantations. “It was like a landscape on the planet Mars,” Scott says. “Such a huge area of yellow–orange clay, and our site was just a small corner of this wider development.” The scale of the land being opened up, the number of interfaces and the distance from existing utilities were immediately clear.
Within this northern precinct sits the 30ha site that RPM and TSA Riley have been engaged to help deliver. The development comprises 2 hyperscale buildings, each the size of “about 6 football pitches,” as Scott puts it. Each building contains data halls and a dedicated facilities service area, supported by underground services, mechanical and electrical yards, internal roads, parking, an office building and a new substation.”
Managing Pace, Pressure and Parallel Contracts
Sime Darby Property appointed IJM Construction to deliver the core and shell, whereas the end user has engaged its own contractor for the technical fit-out, requiring increased coordination between the 2 contracts.
The pace adds another layer. “The main driver for the end user in this current market is how quickly they can commence operation,” Scott says. A data centre may be a simple structure, but, as he puts it, “what makes it complex is the logistics of having to deliver it so quickly and hand over parts of the building to the fit-out contractor while other areas are still being finished”.
TSA Riley commenced work in July. For the first 5 months, Scott is serving as Project Director for the start-up phase. “It is a big project to get moving quickly,” he says. “The early months set the tone for everything else, so our focus has been building the right team and the right structures from day one.”
“The main driver for the end user in this current market is how quickly they can commence operation.”—Scott Lyall
That team blends local delivery experience with specialist expertise. RPM’s Managing Director, Oliver Roche, and COO, Charanjeet Singh, have taken an active role. “Their oversight has been tremendous,” Scott says. “It helps you understand how things are done here and how to navigate the local processes.”
From New Zealand, TSA Riley’s Michael Ward is providing subject matter expertise on data centre developments, industrial programmes and complex mechanical and electrical integrations. Two of our local team members are project managing the delivery of one building each. “Having people who understand the local environment, as well as the expectations of international clients (brought by Oliver Roche’s experience), is essential,” Scott says. “It gives us the right balance of capability on the ground.”
As the programme scales, the combined RPM–TSA Riley group will grow to around 22 people. The integrated PMC model allows the team to support Sime Darby Property, IJM Construction and the end user in a way that brings the best of both organisations together for complex, fast-paced delivery. “We present to the client and stakeholders as one team,” Scott says. “Our business cards even carry both logos.”
What Happens When Major-Project Thinking Meets Data Centre Demand
Malaysia has rapidly become one of the region’s most active data centre markets. It has the water supply, power capacity and construction resources needed to support demand at pace and, as Scott puts it, sits on a “data cable super-highway” that gives operators fast access to international networks.
“On a recent project we had 3 large steel portal buildings, 9 substations, hundreds of kilometres of utility services and complex testing and commissioning of M&E. All of that is required in a data centre.”—Scott Lyall
As Malaysia scales up to meet that demand, it needs highly experienced delivery leaders who can move fast. For Scott, shifting from major Australian transport programmes into data centre delivery was less of a leap than people might assume. The client raised the point directly – his background was infrastructure, not buildings. “My response was that many elements are identical,” he says. “On a recent project we had 3 large steel portal buildings, 9 substations, water supply tanks, hundreds of kilometres of utility services and complex testing and commissioning of M&E. All of that is required in a data centre.”
What has been different is navigating a new regulatory and delivery environment. The Malaysian approvals system, the sequencing of authorities and the way information flows between parties require a different rhythm. “The project management principles are the same,” Scott says. “But the ways of working, especially the authority approvals, have been a steep learning curve. There is always more than one way of doing things, so you have to adapt quickly.”
Fast-Tracked, Low-Risk and Repeatable: Delivered Globally
The project is deepening TSA Riley’s practical experience in a market where demand is accelerating. “More hands-on experience in the delivery of data centres,” Scott says. “More detailed understanding of delivery strategy, contract packaging, the logistics and the different approach necessary for such fast-tracked projects.”
Those lessons are already informing TSA Riley’s advice on early-stage programmes across our regions. They also highlight the versatility of major-project experience and the strength of our global model, drawing on delivery capability across New Zealand, Australia, Malaysia and the UK and Ireland.
