Google will invest $15 billion in Malaysia across 2027 and 2028, Alphabet and Google president and chief investment officer Ruth Porat announced Wednesday at the Mantap Malaysia Bersama AI programme at Universiti Malaya. The money goes to data center campuses, clean energy, water security and worker training.
The spending covers an expansion of Google's existing data center campus at Elmina Business Park in Selangor and new planned campuses in Selangor and Negeri Sembilan, with construction scheduled for 2027 and 2028. It builds on the $2 billion Google committed in May 2024, which funded its first Malaysian data center and Google Cloud region, both at Elmina. The new figure is 7.5 times that pledge.
Google projects the construction phase will support more than 37,000 local jobs a year, contribute an annual average of $1.1 billion to Malaysia's GDP and generate average annual labour income of $378 million. Once operating, the campuses are expected to support more than 9,000 long-term local jobs with wages averaging 45% above the national median.
“Google's announcement reflects our confidence in the strength of Malaysia's leadership, its skilled workforce, and enthusiasm for digital transformation,”— Ruth Porat, Alphabet and Google president and chief investment officer
Key facts
- 01Google will invest $15B (about RM61B) in Malaysia across 2027 and 2028, announced by Alphabet president Ruth Porat.
- 02Spending covers the Elmina campus in Selangor plus new campuses in Selangor and Negeri Sembilan.
- 03Google projects 37,000+ construction jobs a year and 9,000+ long-term operational jobs.
- 04Google and Tenaga Nasional Berhad will add more than 1 GW of clean energy to Malaysia's grid.
- 05Four programmes aim to upskill 800,000 Malaysians by 2031.
On power, Google will work with Tenaga Nasional Berhad to add more than 1 gigawatt of clean energy capacity to the national grid without relying on public subsidies, under Malaysia's Corporate Renewable Energy Supply Scheme. Porat called the approach "bring your own power" and said the collaboration will explore around-the-clock clean energy projects.
Google will also build an off-river storage reservoir and water treatment plant in Negeri Sembilan, expected to supply 65 million litres of treated water a day. Ownership passes to the state government on completion, and the project is meant to reduce monsoon flood risk and secure supply in dry periods.
The skills piece targets 800,000 Malaysians by 2031 through four programmes aimed at educators and students, microentrepreneurs, local council officers and vocational jobseekers. Google said it is working with more than 80 Malaysian entities across civil engineering, power systems, network infrastructure and logistics.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who witnessed the announcement, called the investment a major milestone in Malaysia's effort to become a leading digital powerhouse in Southeast Asia, and said foreign direct investment is indispensable to the country's economic development.
“What is especially gratifying is how Google has chosen to work with our domestic private sector, universities and research centres”— Anwar Ibrahim, Prime Minister of Malaysia
Asked by reporters whether Google had done enough to address environmental concerns, Anwar said "yes, these are the conditions imposed and they've accepted it."
Porat said the investment provides the foundational computing capacity "to deliver the upside of innovation across the country while adding local power and water resources as our operations scale."
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