PETALING JAYA: Mah Sing Group Bhd, through wholly owned subsidiary Garden Vista Development Sdn Bhd, has signed a non-binding and non-exclusive collaboration term sheet with Kinergy Advancement Bhd to provide technical advisory and explore power infrastructure solutions for proposed data centre developments at Southville City, Bangi, Selangor and Meridin East, Pasir Gudang, Johor.

The collaboration brings together Mah Sing’s development and site-planning capabilities with Kinergy’s experience across power generation, engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning (EPCC), and renewable and sustainable energy solutions. It is intended to support Mah Sing’s assessment of how reliable, scalable and sustainable power solutions can be planned alongside the development of its digital infrastructure pipeline.

Under the term sheet, Kinergy will act as technical adviser and provide preliminary technical and commercial input on potential captive power plant (CPP) and power supply arrangements under the Corporate Renewable Energy Supply Scheme (Cress).

The work may include assessing projected power requirements, technology and plant sizing, site suitability, regulatory considerations and potential project structures.

Mah Sing Group CEO Datuk Voon Tin Yow said for large-scale data centres, power is as critical as land, connectivity and water.

He said planning the energy infrastructure early can strengthen the readiness, scalability and long-term competitiveness of a data centre development.

“We have known Kinergy for close to a decade and have seen the development of their technical capabilities. This term sheet allows both parties to evaluate the opportunities together, while preserving flexibility for Mah Sing as the projects progress.”

Mah Sing has been progressively building its digital infrastructure strategy around three complementary pathways – monetise, develop and own.

This gives the group flexibility to selectively monetise development-ready land, develop enabling infrastructure and core-and-shell facilities, and explore ownership of income-generating digital infrastructure assets alongside experienced operators.

The collaboration with Kinergy focuses on evaluating suitable CPP and Cress solutions for the Southville City and Meridin East sites.

At this scale, ownership economics are closely linked to securing power infrastructure that requires specialised engineering and energy capabilities beyond land development alone.

More importantly, direct ownership enables Mah Sing to pursue competitive build-to-lease data centre assets supported by longer-term leasing arrangements, creating a potential recurring income stream while establishing a scalable digital infrastructure portfolio.

Realising this model requires more than land and development expertise; it calls for the ability to plan, engineer and deliver the underlying power infrastructure, while addressing renewable energy sourcing and, where appropriate, dedicated generation.

Kinergy group executive deputy chairman cum group managing director Datuk Dr Lai Keng Onn said the collaboration takes the group’s decade-long relationship into a new part of the infrastructure value chain.

“By combining our complementary capabilities, we can explore how engineering and energy solutions can support the next phase of data centre development and the growing demand for reliable, scalable power.

“Our experience across electrical engineering, power infrastructure and generation gives us a strong technical foundation to assess how captive power can complement Mah Sing’s data centre development plans, including providing greater flexibility in meeting large and continuous power requirements and supporting a more coordinated approach to integrating renewable energy.

“Importantly, the proposed captive power solutions are intended to complement the wider electricity system, providing an additional source of capacity and flexibility alongside conventional grid supply rather than replacing it,” he said.

Kinergy’s capabilities span sustainable energy solutions, EPCC and power generation.

Its integrated engineering and energy platform includes experience in power infrastructure, renewable energy and independent power producer activities, providing relevant expertise for energy-intensive developments such as data centres.

Kinergy’s experience in power generation, EPCC and renewable energy provides useful technical depth as Mah Sing assesses different approaches, including captive generation and renewable energy supply, for prospective data centre developments.

Mah Sing’s property development business remains the group’s core strength and foundation for growth.

Building on its capabilities in landbanking, master planning, development and infrastructure delivery, the group is expanding selectively into digital infrastructure to unlock additional value from its landbank and create new recurring-income opportunities over time.

The group’s digital infrastructure pipeline includes Mah Sing DC Hub @ Southville City, Meridin East in Pasir Gudang and MS Industrial Park @ Kulai.

Mah Sing DC Hub @ Southville City is being positioned as a purpose-built location for hyperscale and AI infrastructure operators, supported by the wider infrastructure requirements of data centre development. MS Industrial Park @ Kulai is also a future data centre land opportunity.

Mah Sing’s vision is to build a broader platform integrating industrial and digital infrastructure uses, enhancing the long-term value of the industrial park while creating additional recurring-income opportunities.

Over time, the development could incorporate recurring-income-generating assets supporting data centre operations, logistics and warehousing, together with related digital infrastructure and supporting services.

“AI is reshaping the digital infrastructure landscape and creating significant requirements for land, power and enabling infrastructure.

Our objective is to build Mah Sing’s capabilities progressively so that we can participate across more parts of the value chain while remaining disciplined in how we deploy capital and structure partnerships,“ Voon said.