Digital Infrastructure Bill gives businesses certainty for long-term investments: Tan Kiat How

The Republic's digital economy grew to $144.1 billion — 19.3 per cent of Singapore's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2025. As digital services increasingly rely on data centres and cloud service providers, disruptions can have a systemic impact on the economy and society, Senior Minister of State for Digital Development and Information Tan Kiat How said on Tuesday (Oct 6).

"When it is disrupted, the impact is not confined to one digital service. Many services can be affected at once, and the impact can quickly ripple across our economy and society," the senior minister of state said at the Second Reading of the Digital Infrastructure Bill in Parliament.

Beyond security and resilience concerns, growing demand for computing power, driven largely by artificial intelligence (AI), is also placing pressure on Singapore's limited land, power and water resources, Tan noted.

Singapore therefore aims to plan ahead and make difficult trade-offs before resource constraints become more acute, creating as much room as possible for the digital economy and the country's AI ambitions while remaining within environmental limits, he said.

"We have done this by working closely with industry, progressively raising standards, testing new approaches, and allocating scarce DC capacity carefully to support our national and digital economy needs."

IMDA as gatekeeper, regulator and standards-setter

The senior minister of state described the Bill as "an important next step" in Singapore's efforts to address challenges relating to security, resilience and sustainability.

He pointed out the Infocomm Media and Development Authority's (IMDA) Advisory Guidelines for Cloud services and Data Centres (DCs) release in February 2025 were developed in consultation with the industry.

It draws on international and industry best practices and standards, and also build on the Multi-Tier Cloud Security Singapore Standard introduced in 2013.

On sustainability, Tan noted that Singapore has been working with the industry to develop various standards, best practices and benchmarks, including tropical DCs, IT energy efficiency, and liquid cooling over years.

Most recently, Singapore had set out its long-term plans in the Green Data Centre Roadmap released in May 2024.

But while these measures have raised standards and and improved industry practice, they are ultimately voluntary, and cannot ensure consistent outcomes across the sector, Tan highlighted.

If passed, and when it comes into force, the Digital Infrastructure Act can give IMDA the statutory tools it needs, he said.

"First, as a gatekeeper, IMDA can require the major digital infrastructure providers and commercial-scale DCs covered by the Act to be licensed and to meet a common baseline of standards.

"Second, as the sector regulator and standards-setter, IMDA can progressively update those baseline requirements as risks, technology and industry practices evolve."

What the Act establishes

Under the Bill, two new licensing regimes will be introduced to strengthen the security and resilience of major cloud services and data centres, while improving the environmental sustainability of data centre operations in Singapore.

The first regime covers major co-location DCs — where businesses share a space to hold their DCs — and cloud DCs with a critical IT load of at least 10 megawatts (MW).

A critical IT load refers to the power that DCs utilise in operation.

Major cloud service providers (CSP) that generate at least $100 million in average annual revenue from users in Singapore over three preceding years are also included in this regime.

Under the Bill, cybersecurity requirements are expected of these DCs and CSPs, and subsequent risk management measures, business continuity and disaster recovery plans must be reported to IMDA along with any disruptions that may occur.

Next, DCs with a critical IT load of at least 3MW will be licensed and be required to meet energy-efficiency requirements.

Both new and existing DCs will need to adhere to these requirements and may further need to improve their IT equipment or water efficiency based on MDDI's consultation with the industry.

The Bill also allows green energy commitments to be enforced as licence conditions, keeping in mind that Singapore's DC capacity is supported by scarce natural resources like land and power. This comes in exchange for being awarded new DC capacity.

Maximum value from compute

Setting out the considerations that guided the design of the Act, Tan said that policymakers had sought to ensure proportionality — regulating on where there is a clear policy need.

They had also adapted global best practices and international standards to Singapore's circumstances, and not front-run technological developments — which could become more cost-effective as they mature.

Policymakers also sought to fit the Act within the wider Government framework due to the wider implications on land use, energy and resources, he added.

"We therefore want clear principles and a robust framework that can progressively adapt with technological and industry changes," the senior minister of state said.

In an earlier statement after the Bill's first reading on Sept 8, the Ministry of Digital Development and Information stated that predictable and credible rules are part of Singapore's value proposition, especially for capital-intensive digital infrastructure investments with a multi-decade lifespan.

"The Bill will give our businesses, organisations, and citizens assurance that the infrastructure they depend on is secure and resilient — and give businesses the clarity and predictability they need to invest in Singapore's digital infrastructure for the long term."

The ministry added that the Act will also ensure that Singapore's data centre sector continues to grow in a sustainable manner.

Rounding up the debate, Senior Minister of State Tan Kiat How said: “Our ambition is not maximum compute. It is maximum value from compute – for Singapore, our businesses and our people, and not just for now, but well into the future.”

新加坡数字经济预计到2025年将增长至1441亿美元，占新加坡国内生产总值（GDP）的19.3%。数字发展及新闻部高级政务部长陈杰豪周二（10月6日）表示，随着数字服务越来越依赖数据中心和云服务提供商，任何中断都可能对经济和社会产生系统性影响。

“一旦网络中断，影响不会局限于单一的数字服务。许多服务可能同时受到影响，而且影响会迅速波及我们的经济和社会，”这位高级国务部长在议会二读《数字基础设施法案》时表示。

谭指出，除了安全和韧性方面的担忧之外，人工智能 (AI) 驱动下对计算能力日益增长的需求，也给新加坡有限的土地、电力和水资源带来了压力。

他表示，因此新加坡的目标是在资源限制变得更加严峻之前提前规划并做出艰难的权衡，在环境限制范围内，尽可能为数字经济和国家的人工智能雄心创造空间。

“我们通过与业界密切合作、逐步提高标准、测试新方法以及谨慎分配稀缺的数据中心容量来支持我们的国家和数字经济需求，从而实现了这一目标。”

新加坡资讯通信媒体发展局（IMDA）作为把关人、监管者和标准制定者

这位高级国务部长称该法案是新加坡在应对与安全、韧性和可持续性相关的挑战方面迈出的“重要一步”。

他指出，新加坡资讯通信媒体发展局 (IMDA) 于 2025 年 2 月发布的《云服务和数据中心咨询指南》是在与业界协商后制定的。

它借鉴了国际和行业最佳实践和标准，并以 2013 年推出的新加坡多层云安全标准为基础。

关于可持续性，谭指出，多年来，新加坡一直与业界合作，制定各种标准、最佳实践和基准，包括热带数据中心、IT 能源效率和液冷。

最近，新加坡在 2024 年 5 月发布的《绿色数据中心路线图》中阐述了其长期计划。

谭强调，虽然这些措施提高了标准，改进了行业惯例，但它们最终都是自愿的，不能保证整个行业取得一致的结果。

他表示，如果《数字基础设施法》获得通过并生效，它将为新加坡资讯通信媒体发展局（IMDA）提供所需的法定工具。

“首先，作为把关人，IMDA 可以要求该法案涵盖的主要数字基础设施提供商和商业规模数据中心获得许可，并达到共同的标准基准。

“其次，作为行业监管机构和标准制定者，IMDA 可以随着风险、技术和行业惯例的发展而逐步更新这些基本要求。”

该法案确立了什么

根据该法案，将引入两项新的许可制度，以加强主要云服务和数据中心的安全性和韧性，同时提高新加坡数据中心运营的环境可持续性。

第一种制度涵盖大型托管数据中心（企业共享空间来存放其数据中心）和关键 IT 负载至少为 10 兆瓦 (MW) 的云数据中心。

关键IT负载是指数据中心在运行过程中消耗的电力。

过去三年中，在新加坡用户中平均每年产生至少 1 亿美元收入的主要云服务提供商 (CSP) 也包含在该制度内。

根据该法案，这些数据中心和云服务提供商需要满足网络安全要求，并且必须向新加坡资讯通信媒体发展局 (IMDA) 报告后续的风险管理措施、业务连续性和灾难恢复计划，以及可能发生的任何中断情况。

接下来，关键 IT 负载至少为 3MW 的数据中心将获得许可，并被要求满足能效要求。

新建和现有的数据中心都需要遵守这些要求，并且根据 MDDI 与业界的磋商，可能还需要进一步改进其 IT 设备或用水效率。

该法案还允许将绿色能源承诺作为许可证条件强制执行，同时考虑到新加坡的直流输电容量依赖于土地和电力等稀缺自然资源。这是获得新增直流输电容量的交换条件。

计算得到的最大值

谭在阐述指导该法案设计的考虑因素时表示，政策制定者力求确保比例原则——在有明确政策需要的地方进行监管。

他们还根据新加坡的实际情况调整了全球最佳实践和国际标准，而不是抢先采用技术发展——随着技术的成熟，这些技术可能会变得更具成本效益。

他还补充说，由于该法案对土地利用、能源和资源有着更广泛的影响，政策制定者也试图将该法案纳入更广泛的政府框架内。

“因此，我们希望有一个明确的原则和一个强大的框架，能够随着技术和行业的变革而逐步适应，”这位高级国务部长说。

在9月8日该法案一读通过后，新加坡数字发展与新闻部曾发表声明称，可预测和可信的规则是新加坡价值主张的一部分，尤其对于资本密集型、使用寿命长达数十年的数字基础设施投资而言更是如此。

“该法案将使我们的企业、组织和公民确信他们所依赖的基础设施是安全可靠的，并为企业提供所需的清晰度和可预测性，以便他们能够长期投资新加坡的数字基础设施。”

该部门补充说，该法案还将确保新加坡的数据中心行业继续以可持续的方式发展。

辩论结束时，高级政务部长陈杰豪表示：“我们的目标不是追求极致的计算能力，而是追求计算能力带来的最大价值——为新加坡、我们的企业和人民创造最大价值，不仅着眼于当下，更着眼于未来。”