Africa Data Centres starts expanding Samrand facility

Data centre and colocation company Africa Data Centres has broken ground on the expansion of its Samrand facility, in Johannesburg, from 10 MW to 40 MW of information technology (IT) load.

The company’s entire platform capacity is expected to exceed 100 MW once the expansion is completed.

“The expansion will happen in phases. The construction of the first phase is starting today and will deliver 20 MW across eight data halls by 2023,” says Africa Data Centres CEO Tesh Durvasula.

The next phase will include an additional 10 MW of IT load by the end of 2025.

The infrastructure will be fully modular, with all critical plant rooms being prefabricated off-site, he adds.

The breaking of ground for Africa Data Centres’ Johannesburg facilities is an integral part of the expansion, as South Africa is an important data centre market in Africa and a gateway for smaller neighbouring markets.

“South Africa is a strategic location, being at the southern-most point of Africa and is undoubtedly the de facto data centre and technology hub for the sub-Saharan Africa region.

“This, in conjunction with the increasing fibre connectivity brought by undersea and terrestrial fibre networks, positions it at the vanguard of data centre expansion on the continent,” adds Durvasula.

The expansion follows the recent launch of a new 10 MW data centre at the company’s campus in Midrand and the expansion of the organisation’s operations in Accra, Ghana.

“This is a step forward in the organisation’s massive expansion plans announced in September, the most ambitious data centre expansion plans Africa has ever seen,” he says.

This will see the data centre giant building large hyperscale data centres across Africa, including the top five data centre markets in Africa – Morocco, Tunisia, Kenya, South Africa and Egypt.

“Our investment of $500-million will enable Africa Data Centres to build numerous interconnected, cloud- and carrier-neutral data centres across the continent. It will more than double our already significant footprint on the continent and aims to help Africa achieve its digital transformation goals,” Durvasula highlights.

Africa Data Centres’ ongoing investments in world-class data centre facilities will enable global cloud clients to service South Africa and the entire sub-Saharan African region.

“Africa Data Centres continues to invest heavily into the region’s information and communications technology infrastructure and can now confidently say it is the continent’s largest and best data centre operator. The organisation’s carrier- and vendor-neutral offering ensures that clients can access interconnection and best-in-class data centre infrastructure.

“In addition, the expansion of the Samrand facility and growth plans shine the spotlight on our dedication and commitment to driving digital forward in Africa,” he says. Engineering News