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Data centre land in Johor is now one of the most sought-after industrial assets in Asia Pacific. Johor’s data centres are almost full, and the real shortage is no longer land but land with power and water that can be delivered on time. This article explains what investors should look for, what recent deals cost, and why a 418-acre freehold site next to Forest City and the Port of Tanjung Pelepas stands out.
Johor’s data centre market in 2026
According to Cushman & Wakefield’s H1 2026 update, Johor had 1,110 MW of operating data centre capacity, 602 MW under construction and 2,486 MW in planning. That makes Johor the largest data centre market in Asia Pacific when operating and future capacity are added together.
Demand is still ahead of supply. Only 0.7% of Johor’s colocation capacity was vacant in the first half of 2026, compared with 4.9% in Singapore, 20.5% in Jakarta and 23.3% in Bangkok, reports the New Straits Times citing Knight Frank. New buildings are taken up almost as soon as they are finished.
Power and water now decide which land is worth buying
Industrial land in Johor is not scarce. Land with a firm path to large power supply and enough water for cooling is. Three things have changed in the last two years:
- Power is the bottleneck. Demand is concentrated around the established clusters at Sedenak and Nusajaya, and substations and grid connection points there are now under pressure. A site with a high-voltage line next to it and TNB support for its load is worth far more than one that is still waiting in the queue.
- Johor is selective about approvals. The state no longer approves less efficient Tier 1 and Tier 2 data centres, and new projects are approved only if energy and water supply are sufficient.
- Municipal water is limited. National water regulator guidelines ask data centres to use alternative water for cooling, such as reclaimed or desalinated water, or air-cooled systems. Data centres in Johor have asked for 136 million litres a day of alternative water supply, according to W.Media.
👉 When you compare data centre land in Johor, ask three questions first: how many MW, by which year, and where the cooling water comes from.
A 418-acre freehold site next to Forest City
The site is at Tanjung Kupang, Gelang Patah, in the west of Johor between Forest City and the Port of Tanjung Pelepas. It is 418 acres of freehold industrial land, sold in plots from 12 acres, so a buyer can take one data centre campus or assemble a much larger block.
Power
A TNB 275 kV transmission line runs less than 100 metres from the land, and two 275 kV substations are under application. TNB has issued a letter of support for up to 1,000 MW, planned in phases: 400 MW from 2027 and two further blocks of 300 MW from 2028. For comparison, 1,000 MW is close to Johor’s entire operating data centre capacity today.
Water
Cooling water does not depend only on the public supply. A seawater desalination plant nearby supplies 2 million litres a day (MLD) today and can expand to 35 MLD, subject to application to Johor Special Water. The SAJ municipal main adds 2 MLD through a 700 mm pipe, expandable to 4 MLD.
Fibre and connectivity
TM’s regional fibre hub at Tanjung Kupang is close by, and a Singtel–TM subsea cable from Singapore is planned to land at Forest City.
Location
The land is about 5.3 km from the main entrance of the Port of Tanjung Pelepas, one of the busiest container ports in the region, and 11 km (around 10 minutes) from the Second Link checkpoint to Singapore. Forest City is 11 km away, Senai International Airport 39 km, and Singapore’s CBD about 40 minutes by road.
Price compared with recent data centre land deals
Light and medium industrial land on this site is priced at RM100 psf, and data centre land at RM140–170 psf. The table compares it with three large data centre land deals in Johor reported in the second quarter of 2026. Prices per square foot are our own calculation from the reported price and land size.
| Site | Land size | Reported price | Price per sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bandar Cemerlang Industrial Park | 49.72 acres | US$85 million | about US$39 |
| Nusajaya | 65.28 acres | US$98 million | about US$34.5 |
| EBP 6 site | 49.59 acres | US$71 million | about US$33 |
| This site, data centre land | from 12 acres | RM140–170 psf | about US$35–42.5 |
| This site, industrial land | from 12 acres | RM100 psf | about US$25 |
Data centre land on this site is priced in line with recent transactions, with one difference: it comes with TNB support for up to 1,000 MW and its own desalinated water source. A 12-acre plot costs about RM52.3 million at RM100 psf, or about RM73.2–88.9 million at the data centre rate.
Incentives in the Johor–Singapore Special Economic Zone
Forest City and Tanjung Pelepas are two of the nine flagship areas of the Johor–Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ). Since 1 January 2025, companies making new investments in qualifying activities, such as the AI supply chain, can apply for a special corporate tax rate of 5% for up to 15 years, and eligible knowledge workers can be taxed at 15% for 10 years.
Forest City also holds Malaysia Digital status for approved technology companies, and according to the developer, a Free Trade Zone application for the industrial land is in progress. Incentives are approved case by case, so check eligibility with MIDA before you commit.
Who this land suits
- Data centre and AI operators who need a large campus with power from 2027 and a cooling water source that does not depend on the public supply.
- Investors and land bankers looking for freehold land inside the JS-SEZ, close to a major port and the Singapore border.
- EV supply chain manufacturers that need heavy power and port access for export.
- Shipyards, marine industry and smart logistics, close to the Port of Tanjung Pelepas.
What foreign buyers should know
Most enquiries for this land come from foreign companies. Foreigners can buy industrial land in Johor, but the purchase needs state consent:
- You pay the deposit and sign the Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) first. Consent is applied for after the SPA and usually takes about three months.
- The completion period of three months (plus one month extension) starts only after consent is approved. This applies to cash buyers and loan buyers alike.
- Budget for the Johor state consent levy for foreign buyers of industrial property (4% of the price), stamp duty on the transfer (about 4% at this price level), and legal fees.
Your lawyer will check the land title and land use before you sign, so you know the land can be used and licensed for your business.
Next step
Full details, the location map and the price are on the listing: freehold industrial and data centre land for sale near Forest City. To understand where this site sits in Johor’s data centre map, read about data centre growth in Nusajaya and Gelang Patah and why Sedenak became Johor’s data centre hub, or browse more industrial land for sale in Johor.
👉 To arrange a site visit or request the land layout plan, WhatsApp Jimmy Toh.
