Japan tech firms start Lao PDR data center project

Toyota Tsusho, Internet Initiative Japan, and Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities announced the start of a joint demonstration project in the Lao PDR.

The firms said the project is aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of greenhouse gas emission reduction effect and energy efficiency using advanced container-type data center technology.

Lao PDR’s first government-operated eco data center was completed in Vientiane on November.

With integrated cloud infrastructure and security solutions, the new data center will serve as a cornerstone of Lao PDR’s IT foundation and contribute to the development of e-government applications for their people.

Additionally, the data center will be utilized for training future generations of IT engineers, industrial development and for a broad range of other initiatives. By operating the data center, the Lao PDR government also aims to strengthen its IT governance.

This data center is also expected to serve as a springboard for the maturation of the local IT industry, encouraging Japanese-related companies to expand their IT business in the country.

The highly energy efficient data center leverages IIJ’s IT/cooling all-in-one packaged design “co-IZmo/I.”

This design approach made it possible to complete the data center in just 7 months after construction began in May 2016 (about one-third the time typically required for conventional building-type data centers).

This project is conducted on the basis of the commission by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), as part of its Global Warming Mitigation Technology Promotion Project selected in July 2015.

The governments of Japan and Lao PDR have signed the bilateral document concerning the Joint Crediting Mechanism.