GDS Huailai 1 (HL1)

HL1 is GDS's build-operate-transfer (B-O-T) data center in Huailai County, part of the Zhangjiakou region of Hebei province that also hosts a competing hyperscale campus from Chindata. GDS originally framed its Hebei build-to-suit program under a 2019 strategic cooperation agreement with GIC, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, under which GIC would acquire a 90% stake in each completed project company while GDS retained 10% and an operating role. HL1 Phase 1 came into service in the first quarter of 2021; in the fourth quarter of that year, GDS completed the sale of a 49% equity interest in the Phase 1 project company to GIC under a revised master joint venture agreement, leaving GDS with a 51% controlling stake — making HL1 the first B-O-T joint venture data center under this restructured GDS-GIC partnership. HL1 Phase 2, disclosed at 3,440 sqm of net floor area, began construction in the fourth quarter of 2021 with an expected service date in the second half of 2022. GDS has not published a combined floor area, power (MW) rating or tier certification for the full HL1 building.