NTT data-center arm plans to double capacity to 4 GW

NTT Global Data Centers, the data‑center unit of Japan’s NTT Inc., plans to double capacity to about 4 gigawatts within two years to meet rising demand for cloud and AI workloads, CEO Doug Adams said.

The company is working on 34 projects and expects capacity to exceed 5 gigawatts in five years, Adams said.

NTT GDC operates more than 150 data centers in over 20 countries and reported net sales of about US$2.4 billion for the fiscal year ended March 2025 after a roughly 30% rise, and Adams said he expects revenue to grow more than 20% a year, but he declined to give a specific time period.

Adams said the firm has more than US$3 billion on its balance sheet for expansion, could partner with outside investors or place assets into a REIT after listing NTT DC REIT in Singapore last July, which raised more than US$770 million, and has secured contracts for over 70% of the 34 projects.

In Frankfurt, NTT GDC is adding close to 500 megawatts and is building sites in Milan and Osaka while studying opportunities in the Nordics and South America as demand for AI capacity accelerates across the industry.

🔗 Source: Bloomberg

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

NTT’s expansion uses capital recycling as parent company profits tighten

Growth leans on a “capital recycling” approach, where NTT sells stabilized data centers into vehicles such as a listed real estate investment trust (REIT) to pay for new builds 1.
NTT Group is pushing this plan while profitability slips, with Q1 operating profit down 7% even as revenue hit a record 2.
The parent company also carries heavy leverage, with a debt-to-equity ratio of 98.84 3.
The setup could let NTT Global Data Centers keep expanding while supporting NTT Group’s target to lift earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) by 40% by fiscal 2027 4.

NTT’s build-out feeds the infrastructure race as AI demand climbs

NTT ranks as the world’s third-largest data center provider, and its fast build-out raises the stakes against Equinix and Digital Realty 4.
Across the sector, a land rush is underway, with the data center real estate finance market forecast to grow from $68.4 billion in 2024 to $164.7 billion by 2033, powered by AI and related demand 5.
That spending wave also speeds up consolidation, leaving only the biggest and best-funded firms able to build the core infrastructure for the global AI economy 5.