Vantage enters Africa with $1bn Johannesburg data centre

The African data centre economy is promed for explosive growth, drawing international operators to the region in increasing numbers. Now, Vantage Data Centers, a US-based global operator of hyperscale data centres, is entering the region for the first time. 

Vantage has announced that construction has begun on a new, $1 billion campus in Johannesburg in South Africa. Funds for the new campus were raised from the company’s “existing financial partners”, and marks Vantage’s entry into its fifth continent. 

Located in the Waterfall City district of Johannesburg, the new Vantage campus will have a total capacity of 80 MW upon completion, making it easily one of the largest data centre sites in Africa. 

The carrier-neutral campus will comprise three data centre facilities spread across 30 acres of land. In total the sites will offer 650,000 square feet of data centre whitespace. The first phase is currently under development and is slated for completion in summer of 2022, bringing an initial 16 MW of capacity online. 

“Johannesburg is the data center hub for sub-Saharan Africa due to its strategic location, IT ecosystem, fiber connectivity to the rest of Africa and the availability of renewable energy,” said Antoine Boniface, president, Vantage EMEA. “We look forward to not only opening the doors of our first African facility to our customers, but also to becoming part of the local community. Our first campus has a planned investment of more than US$ 1 billion, and it will create hundreds of jobs to positively impact the local economy.”

Vantage - like many hyperscalers - favors highly standardised designs for its facilities, emphasising highly sustainable build practices and efficiency operations. The Johannesburg campus, according to the company, will feature “sustainable building features” that include “permeable landscaping and natural on-site drainage to protect precious resources”, as well as “ recycling, motion-sensor LED lighting and other elements for incremental energy and water savings throughout the campus, in addition to electric vehicle charging stations.” 

“Vantage has seen strong demand from our customers for high quality, hyperscale data center facilities across the globe, and we are excited to meet this demand by expanding to Africa’s largest market,” said Sureel Choksi, president and CEO, Vantage Data Centers. “With our global expansion over the last two and half years, we have become one of the fastest growing hyperscale data center providers in the world.