SINGAPORE (Nov 21): Keppel Telecommunications & Transportation, which is in the midst of spinning off its data centres through a REIT listing in Singapore, will expand its reach in the Netherlands by buying a data centre in the city of Almere.

Almere Data Centre 2 is a purpose-built shell and core data centre facility located on freehold land adjacent to Almere Data Centre 1, a fully fitted and occupied data centre acquired by Securus Fund in 2013, Keppel T&T said in a statement this morning.

Securus, the world's first Shariah-compliant data centre fund, is owned by Keppel T&T and AEP Investment Management.

The acquisition of Almere Data Centre 2 is made by Keppel Data Centre Holding, a joint venture between Keppel T&T and Keppel Land.

The acquisition price was not disclosed.

"We are not able to disclose the acquisition price as the information is commercially sensitive," a Keppel T&T spokesman told The Edge Markets.

Keppel Data Centre Holding has also inked a binding letter of intent with a tenant for it to lease about 40% of Almere Data Centre 2, which will add more than 5,000 sq m of space to Keppel T&T's portfolio.

The latest data centre will not be part of the initial portfolio of Keppel T&T's upcoming REIT.

The two data centres in Almere are about 40 minutes away from Amsterdam.

"Amsterdam is a strategic location as a key first-tier data centre market in Europe. With excellent digital infrastructure and opportunities to tap on renewable wind and solar energy, the region is shaping up to be a hub for big data,” Keppel T&T CEO Thomas Pang said in a statement.

According to research by IHS Technology, global business spending on cloud computing infrastructure and services is expected to increase 20% to US$174 billion ($217 billion) in 2014.