Singapore DC-CFA2 Buyer Procurement Memo

Singapore DC-CFA2 Buyer Procurement Memo

Quick Answer

Policy Status Memorandum

To: Data center owners, design consultants, IT teams and package buyers Subject: What DC-CFA2 now means for equipment procurement Status date: 16 October 2026

1. The application phase is over

EDB and IMDA launched DC-CFA2 on 1 December 2025. The official IMDA page records that registration of interest closed on 5 December 2025 and applications closed on 13 April 2026. The agencies then announced the provisional allocation on 21 August 2026.

The official milestones are:

The August factsheet says more than 20 proposals were received. It also says the supported facilities will be located in JTC’s planned low-carbon data center park on Jurong Island. EDB and IMDA will review the need for another call in 18–24 months. That is a review horizon, not a promised launch date.

2. The award attaches to operator proposals, not products

DC-CFA2 assessed proposals across strategic value, economic contribution and sustainability. Its requirements operate at project or operator level. They are not approval marks for individual equipment.

The launch factsheet required a selected project to obtain BCA-IMDA Green Mark for Data Centres 2024 Platinum, achieve PUE of 1.25 or better at 100% IT load, demonstrate IT-equipment efficiency against SS 715:2025, improve IT utilization, and power at least 50% of proposed capacity through eligible green-energy pathways.

The August award factsheet reports that the four supported proposals committed to exceed the minimum sustainability requirements, power more than 50% of capacity from green energy, adopt advanced technologies including liquid cooling, use 100% energy-efficient IT equipment, and meet Green Mark DC Platinum certification. These statements describe selected proposals and project outcomes. They do not turn “liquid cooled,” “prefabricated” or “high efficiency” into a standalone DC-CFA2 product claim.

3. Procurement must preserve the evidence chain

A purchasing specification should separate four questions:

• What did the operator commit? Use the approved project basis, not a supplier’s interpretation.
• Who owns the requirement? Assign the operator, consultant, IT vendor, M&E contractor or equipment supplier.
• What proves delivery? Define calculations, certificates, drawings, test records and operating data.
• Who accepts the evidence? Name the reviewing authority in the project quality plan.

This distinction prevents a component efficiency value from being substituted for whole-facility PUE, or a product certificate from being represented as Green Mark certification for the data center.

Equipment Procurement Responsibility Matrix

Use the matrix as an RFP ownership schedule. Adapt it to the operator’s approved proposal and contract structure.

Where ZT equipment data belongs

ZT supplier data may help size a package, but it must remain outside the policy column. For example, ZT’s published engineering ranges include 5–8 kW/rack for general IT, 15–30 kW/rack for denser mixed computing, and 100 kW/rack or higher for liquid-cooled AI designs. ZT also lists CDU capacities of 200–1,400 kW, secondary-side temperature control within ±1°C, and an available 1+1 arrangement for pumps, instruments, power and communications.

These are ZT manufacturer capabilities taken from its approved company parameter library; they are not DC-CFA2 thresholds, Singapore regulatory limits or proof of project certification. Final selection must follow the actual server list, heat-load map, facility-water temperatures, redundancy basis and operator evidence plan. In particular, do not confuse rack kW, total module IT kW, cooling-unit kW, CDU thermal kW and total project MW.

Evidence Package Checklist

The evidence package should be indexed to purchase-order requirements and controlled through design, factory testing, site testing and handover.

A. Policy and project basis

• Operator’s approved project requirement register and relevant DC-CFA2 commitments.
• Green Mark DC Platinum certification plan, responsibility map and submission schedule.
• PUE definition, calculation boundary, 100% IT-load case and approved assumptions.
• SS 715:2025 evidence plan covering IT selection and equipment utilization.
• Green-energy pathway and verification plan owned by the operator, not the equipment vendor.

B. Design records

• Approved rack schedule showing expected and peak kW per rack.
• Electrical single-line diagrams, protection study, UPS topology and battery-autonomy calculation.
• Thermal model or CFD output tied to the rack-level heat map.
• Air/liquid heat split, CDU duty, design temperatures, flow, pressure and fluid chemistry.
• Materials, connection type, leak-detection zones, drainage and emergency response.
• Metering architecture aligned with the PUE boundary.
• Controls points list, alarm priorities, sequences, fail-safe states and communications protocols.

C. Supplier qualification and verification

Request current duty-point datasheets, applicable certificate numbers and scopes, the approved bill of materials, the inspection-and-test plan, and FAT/SAT procedures. Liquid systems also need pressure, flushing, cleanliness and leak records; integrated controls need alarm, transfer and communications-loss tests. A brochure logo is not evidence that the supplied model, factory and configuration are covered.

Make the final evidence package—including as-built drawings, commissioning trends, software backups and training records—a payment and acceptance milestone. It supports the operator’s certification work but does not independently guarantee project certification.

FAQs

Is DC-CFA2 still accepting applications?

No. Applications closed on 13 April 2026. The official pages checked on 16 October 2026 describe the exercise as allocated, not open.

Who received the provisional 200 MW allocation?

Digital Realty, Equinix, Keppel Data Centres and ST Telemedia Global Data Centres received 50 MW each, for a total of 200 MW.

Is there a DC-CFA2 certificate for equipment?

No. DC-CFA2 is a capacity-allocation exercise for operator proposals. Equipment certificates, project Green Mark certification and contractual acceptance are separate matters.

Does every purchased product need to achieve PUE 1.25?

No. PUE is a facility-level ratio. The launch requirement was PUE of 1.25 or better at 100% IT load for the proposed data center, not a product efficiency rating.

Did the policy mandate liquid cooling for every rack?

No universal rack-level mandate appears in the checked official materials. The selected proposals committed to advanced technologies such as liquid cooling. Architecture still depends on the IT hardware and heat-load profile.

Can efficient cooling equipment satisfy the green-energy requirement?

No. Efficiency reduces energy use; green-energy sourcing addresses how energy is supplied and verified. The operator must document the eligible pathway.

When will Singapore launch another call?

No date is confirmed in the checked sources. EDB and IMDA said they would review the need for another call in 18–24 months.

Three Takeaways

• DC-CFA2 closed on 13 April 2026, and 200 MW was provisionally allocated on 21 August 2026. Procurement now supports delivery, not application drafting.
• Policy requirements are not product certifications. Assign each operator commitment to an accountable party and a defined evidence record.
• Buy the evidence with the equipment. Duty-point data, interfaces, FAT/SAT records and commissioning results should be contractual deliverables.

About ZT

Founded in 2009, ZT (ZheJiang ZhiTing Information Technology Co., Ltd) designs and manufactures prefabricated data center infrastructure from a 30,000 m² production facility in Zhejiang, China, with 200+ staff. Its portfolio includes containerized systems, CDUs, in-row cooling, UPS, racks and DCIM. ZT-listed certifications include ISO 9001, CE, CCC, TUV, RoHS, UL and TIA-942; buyers should verify the scope and validity for the offered configuration.

CTA: Build the Procurement Evidence Map

Send ZT the rack schedule, server list, air/liquid heat split, redundancy basis, site water conditions, metering boundary and required test records. ZT’s engineering team can prepare a package-level technical response for consultant review without representing supplier data as a DC-CFA2 policy approval.

Request a technical consultation or review the containerized data center solution.

Sources

• IMDA: Call for Application—Data Centre 2 — application and allocation status, checked 16 October 2026.
• Singapore EDB: Four Data Centre Proposals Selected as Part of DC-CFA2 — award page, checked 16 October 2026.
• EDB/IMDA Fact Sheet: Four Data Centre Proposals Selected, 21 August 2026.
• Singapore EDB: Launch of Second Data Centre—Call for Application.
• EDB/IMDA Fact Sheet: Launch of DC-CFA2, 1 December 2025.