Teraco Data Environments (Pty) Ltd. announces the commencement of construction for what will be Africa’s largest data center in Ekurhuleni, east of Johannesburg, South Africa. The facility, named JB4, will boast a staggering 38 megawatts (MW) of critical power load, solidifying its position as a cornerstone in Africa’s digital infrastructure landscape.
Scheduled for completion in Q1 2022, JB4 stands as a testament to Teraco’s commitment to meeting the burgeoning demands of hyperscale requirements driven by the escalating need for cloud services across Africa. CEO of Teraco, Jan Hnizdo, emphasizes the strategic significance of South Africa’s role as a technology and data center hub for sub-Saharan Africa, buoyed by robust undersea and terrestrial fiber connectivity.
Hnizdo underlines Teraco’s dedication to expanding its capacity footprint across core hubs to facilitate clients’ participation in the digital transformation sweeping across sub-Saharan Africa. The vendor-neutral offering ensures open access to interconnection and resilient data center infrastructure, fostering innovation and collaboration among over 600 global and local clients within the Platform Teraco ecosystem.
The JB4 facility, Teraco’s seventh data center development, is strategically situated in the heart of the Ekurhuleni Aerotropolis, providing access to a diverse array of network service providers, peering at NAPAfrica, regional IXP’s, content delivery networks, and cloud provider on-ramps.
This expansion aims to bolster support for sub-Saharan enterprises in advancing their digital transformation strategies while enabling global cloud providers to extend their footprints. With a critical power load capacity exceeding 110MW across Teraco facilities, JB4 represents a pivotal addition to South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa’s data center infrastructure.
JB4, spanning 50,000 square meters of building structure serviced by 80MW of utility power supply, will be the largest single-site data center on the African continent. Built across 6 hectares of land in two phases, Phase I will feature 8x 1000 square meter halls with 19MW of critical power load, with Phase II completing the facility to include 16x 1000 square meter halls with 38MW of critical power load.
The new data center development adheres to global hyperscale requirements and international compliance standards, augmenting Teraco’s existing portfolio of ISO9001, ISO27001, PCI-DSS, and ISAE3402 certified data center facilities. Positioned strategically in Ekurhuleni, JB4 will offer multiple fiber paths to the Teraco Isando Campus connectivity hub, facilitating seamless connectivity for clients across the region.
As Africa continues its digital evolution, investments in cutting-edge infrastructure like JB4 are poised to drive innovation, economic growth, and connectivity, positioning the continent at the forefront of the global digital economy.
