Vietnam’s Proposed $3.5 Billion AI Data Center Hinges on Power

The proposed AI data-center complex in Tay Ninh would be among Vietnam’s most ambitious digital-infrastructure projects if it moves beyond the planning stage. A consortium led by Saigontel has submitted a letter of interest for a campus designed to reach 200 MW, with a first 100 MW phase estimated at $3.5 billion. 6

The headline figures are substantial, but the project is not yet an approved investment. Its prospects will depend less on the availability of industrial land than on the consortium’s ability to secure approvals and a credible electricity-supply arrangement for a power-intensive AI facility.

What has been proposed?

The project is planned for approximately 20 hectares at Nam Tan Tap Industrial Park in Tan Tap commune, Tay Ninh province, in southern Vietnam. Its target total IT load is 200 MW. 26

The development is expected to be phased:

• Phase one: 100 MW, with an estimated investment of $3.5 billion
• Full design capacity: Up to 200 MW
• Indicative groundbreaking: Q4 2026, subject to required conditions
• Indicative commercial operations: 2027 6

The public proposal does not establish a separate budget, technical specification, or delivery date for the second 100 MW. The $3.5 billion figure should therefore be treated as the disclosed estimate for phase one, not automatically as the cost of the fully built 200 MW campus.

Who is behind the proposal?

The consortium consists of three companies:

• Saigon Telecommunication & Technology Corp. (Saigontel), the lead member
• World Harmony Co. Ltd. (WVU)
• SAIF Eagle II Investment Co. Ltd. 6

The structure combines a Vietnamese technology and infrastructure company with international infrastructure and investment partners. Saigontel’s broader business includes industrial-park and technology-related infrastructure, while the consortium’s proposal identifies WVU and SAIF Eagle II as partners in the development effort. 6

The companies’ participation is commercially significant, but it does not by itself guarantee construction or financing. The project must still pass through Vietnam’s investment-approval process and establish a workable plan for land, infrastructure, and electricity.

Why electricity is the decisive issue

The consortium must work with provincial authorities and the power sector on an electricity-supply plan before preparing its investment proposal and seeking approval. 6 For an AI-focused campus, that requirement is fundamental: computing workloads need dependable, continuous power at a scale that can challenge local grid capacity.

Vietnam’s power constraints are already visible in the data-center pipeline. A report cited by Vietnam’s trade authorities counted 41 active data centers with a combined power capacity of 221 MW in 2025. 1 The proposed campus’s full 200 MW design would be close to that entire active total, although the two figures are not perfectly comparable because one describes existing active capacity and the other describes a proposed design target.

A separate report says that a 100 MW data-center project in Vietnam’s major clusters can face waits of roughly two to three years for new power supply. 8 That context makes the proposed 2026 groundbreaking and 2027 operating target particularly ambitious. The schedule will depend on whether the consortium can secure power quickly enough, not simply whether it can obtain an industrial-park site.

If the electricity plan is approved and financeable, Tay Ninh could offer Vietnam another location for large-scale AI and cloud infrastructure beyond the country’s established Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City concentrations. If power arrangements remain unresolved, the proposal could stay at the study or approval stage.

How it compares with other Vietnamese data-center projects

The Saigontel-led proposal enters a rapidly expanding but highly competitive market:

• Viettel: Began construction in 2025 on a hyperscale facility in Ho Chi Minh City designed for 140 MW. 1
• CMC: Received approval for a Ho Chi Minh City hyperscale project starting at 30 MW and expandable to 120 MW. 3
• G42, Microsoft, FPT and VinaCapital: Proposed a hyperscale project in Ho Chi Minh City valued at $2 billion. 3

Against those examples, Tay Ninh’s proposed 100 MW first phase would place it among Vietnam’s largest announced AI-oriented developments. Its eventual 200 MW design would be larger than the capacities cited for the comparison projects, although the Tay Ninh project remains less advanced because it is currently supported by a letter of interest rather than an investment approval. 36

Vietnam’s data-center market is growing from a low base

Industry estimates differ because they do not always measure the same thing. One government-linked account reports 221 MW across active data centers in 2025. 1 Broader market forecasts that include designed, planned, or developing capacity put Vietnam at approximately 524.7 MW in 2025, rising to about 950 MW by 2030. The same forecast expects market revenue to exceed $3 billion by 2031, with annual growth above 20%. 29

The difference between these figures is important. Active installed capacity is not interchangeable with a forecast that may include facilities under development or planned capacity. Still, both measures point to the same underlying trend: Vietnam is preparing for a substantial build-out of cloud, colocation, and AI infrastructure.

What 100% foreign ownership changes

Vietnam’s telecommunications-law framework confirms that companies providing data-center and cloud services can be wholly foreign-owned. 28 The policy removes a significant structural obstacle for international hyperscalers, infrastructure funds, technology companies, and specialist operators seeking to participate in the market.

That reform can make cross-border financing, operating partnerships, and foreign-led projects easier to structure. It does not, however, eliminate project-level requirements. A foreign-backed or locally led data center still needs to address investment approval, land, construction, compliance, and grid connection. For the Tay Ninh proposal, ownership rules may improve access to capital, but electricity remains the immediate physical constraint.

The significance for Tay Ninh

The proposal could help reposition Tay Ninh as a southern digital-infrastructure destination by combining industrial-park land, AI computing capacity, and international investment. A functioning 100–200 MW campus would support Vietnam’s broader effort to attract data-center and AI-related development as demand for cloud computing and advanced workloads grows.

But the project’s significance should not be confused with certainty. The consortium has announced an ambitious concept and a conditional schedule, not a completed financing package or approved facility. The next meaningful milestones are an investment proposal, regulatory approval, and a documented electricity-supply arrangement.

For now, the clearest conclusion is also the simplest: Tay Ninh has a potentially transformative AI data-center proposal, but power availability will help determine whether it becomes a new infrastructure hub or remains a headline project. 68