South African data center operator Teraco is planning a new facility in Johannesburg.
The Digital Realty-owned firm this week announced construction has commenced on a new 40MW facility at its Isando Campus in Ekurhuleni, east of Johannesburg.
The 71,000 sqm (764,235 sq ft) facility, known as JB7, is currently scheduled for completion in 2026. The project is being funded by an R8 billion ($442 million) syndicated loan.
The expansion will increase the Isando Campus’ capacity up to 110MW of critical power load, alongside JB1, JB3, and JB5.
JB7 will feature a closed-loop chilled water system and direct free-air cooling into the eight 1,500 sqm (16,145 sq ft) data halls. It will offer liquid-to-air and liquid-to-liquid cooling.
Jan Hnizdo, CEO at Teraco, said: “South Africa is a springboard for cloud provision into Africa and, as a result, has become the technology and data center 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.
Teraco has secured a new R8 billion syndicated loan through Absa and other financial institutions to finance JB7. Part of this loan will augment existing loans used to finance Teraco’s renewable energy generation program, including a 120MW solar plant the company started work on this week.
“We continue to receive strong support from the lending community. The new syndication was well oversubscribed, which is an expression of confidence by our local institutional financing partners in our data center platform, growth path, and ESG initiatives,” said Samuel Erwin, Teraco CFO.
Digital Realty acquired a majority stake in Teraco in January 2022, in a deal valuing the company at approximately $3.5 billion.
Founded in 2008, Teraco also operates the Bredell Campus in Jo’burg (featuring JB2/JB4 and totaling 63MW), the Cape Town Campus in Brackenfell (CT1/CT2, totaling 53MW), and a 2MW facility in Durban.
