Data environment services company Teraco says construction has started on a new hyperscale data centre facility with 30 MW of critical power load at its Isando Campus, in Ekurhuleni.

The facility – JB5 – is scheduled for completion in 2024 and will incorporate the latest environmentally sustainable cooling and water management designs.

The 55 000 m² JB5, which is being built in line with global hyperscale requirements, has been designed for sustainability and to minimise its environmental footprint. JB5 will incorporate the latest state-of-the-art cooling designs, a closed-loop chilled water system that incorporates 100% free air cooling.

This design will bring about industry-leading power use effectiveness, thereby reducing the energy consumed and limiting water used in the ongoing cooling process to zero, says Teraco CEO Jan Hnizdo.

The company continues with solid growth, as enterprise and hyperscale requirements continue apace owing to sustained demand for hybrid cloud deployments and the adoption of cloud services in Africa, he says.

“South Africa is a springboard for cloud provision into Africa and, as a result, has become the technology and data centre hub for sub-Saharan Africa. Massive global investments into undersea cables, like Equiano and 2Africa, further strengthen this position. This will enable global cloud providers to service not only the South African market, but also the rest of the sub-Saharan African region,” he highlights.

“Teraco is committed to growing its capacity footprint across its core hubs. We ensure our clients have the flexibility to scale and take advantage of the digital transformation across sub-Saharan Africa.”

This new expansion aims to further support sub-Saharan enterprises by advancing their digital transformation strategies and enabling global cloud providers to expand their footprints, and spurring innovation, Hnizdo says.

“We continue to invest significantly in the region’s information and communications technology infrastructure and have built Africa’s largest data centre platform. We take pride in enabling open access interconnection and providing world-class data centre infrastructure for all our clients,” he notes.

The JB5 facility is Teraco’s eighth data centre development located in the heart of Ekurhuleni’s Aerotropolis. Teraco’s data centres already provide access to a wide choice of network service providers, peering at NAPAfrica, regional Internet exchange points, content delivery networks and cloud provider on-ramps, Hnizdo says.