Africa Data Centres unveils new 20MW facility in Cape Town

Africa Data Centres, part of the Cassava Technologies Group, has announced it is building a second data centre in Cape Town, South Africa. The new 20MW facility will cover 15,000 square metres in eight data halls and is situated on the northern periphery of Cape Town city centre.

According to Tesh Durvasula, Chief Executive Officer of Africa Data Centres, there is a clear pipeline of demand for colocation space that cannot be served from the existing Diep River data centre. “The new Cape Town facility is a critical part of Africa Data Centres expansion drive in the area”.

The site is located in a secure business park that is well served by two major national roads, the N7 and M12, and is in close proximity to Cape Town’s city centre, the V&A Waterfront harbour, Cape Town International Airport, and is within easy reach of Africa Data Centres’ existing Africa Data Centres’ facility in Diep River.

As volumes of data in South Africa grow, so does the demand for the capacity to store and process it. “This is why Africa Data Centres has such ambitious expansion plans in the region. As Africa’s largest and leading network of interconnected, carrier- and cloud-neutral data centre facilities, we are continually working to provide the infrastructure to help companies achieve their digital goals.”

Capacity in data centres doubles with South Africa leading the way

There are several regions experiencing high data centre demand in Africa, and data centre capacity has more than doubled in the past few years. South Africa is leading the charge and is now brimming with new projects.

Durvasula said that “Hyper-scaler cloud providers have been eyeing the region for some time, with Amazon opening its first African cloud data centre in South Africa in April 2020. In addition, Google Cloud recently selected Africa Data Centres as the first location for Google Cloud Interconnect in Africa."

Cape Town is the number two data centre market in South Africa and currently has a connectivity ecosystem made up of several colocation data centres and a wide range of cloud service providers and networks.

Research estimates that the market for data centres in Africa is expected to reach between US$3bn and US$5bn in the next four years, growing at a compound annual growth rate of between 12 and 15%, depending on the report.

Image: Africa Data Centres