Facebook reported to be planning a data centre in Taiwan [Updated]

Facebook is reportedly planning to build a data centre in Taiwan as the social network seeks to further expand its operations into Asia to support its growing services and 800 million plus user base.

No timeline for construction of the centre has been revealed but, according to an article from CENS, the premises will take up an estimated 720,000 square feet (or 20,000 pings) in size, that’s the equivalent of 180 basketball courts.

With data centres already established in the US and one coming in Europe — after Facebook announced plans for a centre in Sweden — the move to Taiwan will give the social network a data presence in three major global regions.

Facebook is likely to handle the software needs of the centre although the company is likely to turn to local Taiwanese manufacturers to equip it with the necessary hardware and servers. The move is tipped to bring “several billion” Taiwanese dollars worth of business to the country. Having worked with Facebook on US projects, Taiwanese firm Winstron is thought to be in pole position to win what is likely to be a hotly-contested contract.

Facebook’s news is likely to be welcomed by Taiwanese authorities who saw Google announce its own plan for a data centre in the country last month. The government is keen to develop Taiwan as a regional centre for logistics which it believes it could bring more than $3.3 billion (NT$100 million) of new business to local industries and companies.

In addition to Google announcement, the last month has seen Taiwan welcome two new tech arrivals with Japanese venture capitalist firm CyberAgent and Firefox owner Mozilla both launching offices in the country.

Update – A Facebook spokesperson tells The Next Web that “We have no plans to build a datacenter in Taiwan.”