Teraco, the largest interconnection hub and vendor-neutral data centre provider in Africa, has unveiled plans for a 30MW expansion of its CT2 hyperscale data centre facility in Brackenfell, Cape Town, South Africa. The expansion, scheduled for completion in early 2025, reflects Teraco’s commitment to addressing the escalating demand for data centre capacity from enterprise customers and hyperscale cloud providers. This move aligns with Teraco’s broader vision of driving digital transformation across the African continent.
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Strategic Addition to Platform Teraco
Jan Hnizdo, CEO at Teraco, emphasized the strategic significance of the new CT2 facility, describing it as a valuable addition to Platform Teraco. The expansion aims to provide enterprises with a scalable platform for IT infrastructure deployment, ensuring performance, reliability, stringent security, and a wide array of carrier and network service providers. This approach is pivotal in establishing a robust interconnection strategy to support Africa’s evolving digital landscape.
The construction of CT2 Phase 2 has already commenced, with the additional capacity expected to be available in the first quarter of 2025. The expansion includes four data halls of 5.3MW, two data halls of 3.1MW, and two more data halls of 2.2MW. Spanning three levels upon completion, the entire CT2 facility is projected to support a total IT load of 50MW. This expansion significantly contributes to Teraco’s growing data centre platform.
As part of Teraco’s Cape Town Campus, CT2 is interconnected with CT1 through diverse fibre routes. This direct linkage provides enterprises with access to Platform Teraco, an ecosystem encompassing over 250 network providers, global cloud on-ramps, subsea cable systems, managed service providers, and direct peering at NAPAfrica—Africa’s largest internet exchange point. Clients in these facilities gain direct connectivity to AWS Direct Connect and Microsoft Azure ExpressRoute or through Teraco’s Africa Cloud Exchange.
Cape Town’s Significance in Digital Connectivity
Cape Town, as one of Africa’s most digitally connected cities, is a logical destination for Teraco’s continued investment in data centre infrastructure. The city hosts a thriving digital landscape, including telecommunications, financial services, e-commerce, logistics, and retail sectors. Its strategic location at the southern tip of Africa positions it as a convergence point for major subsea cable systems like Equiano, ACE, WACS, and SAT-3/SAFE, with the imminent landing of the 2AFRICA cable system.
Sustainability and Environmental Considerations
CT2 has been designed with a focus on sustainability, incorporating state-of-the-art cooling designs with a closed-loop chilled water system for 100% free air cooling. This environmentally conscious approach aims to achieve industry-leading Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) while minimizing energy consumption and eliminating water usage in the ongoing cooling process.
Teraco’s Overall Data Centre Capacity
With the completion of CT2 expansion, Teraco’s overall data centre capacity reaches 185MW across various facilities, including Isando Campus JB1/JB3/JB5 (70MW), Bredell Campus JB2/JB4 (64MW), Cape Town Campus CT1/CT2 (50MW), and Durban (1MW). This extensive infrastructure supports organizations in dynamically scaling their IT infrastructure, adopting hybrid multi-cloud architectures, and fostering strategic collaborations within the Platform Teraco ecosystem.
Significance of Teraco’s Expansion
Teraco’s expansion of the CT2 hyperscale data centre in Cape Town signifies a pivotal step in meeting the growing demand for data centre services in Africa. With a focus on sustainability, connectivity, and scalability, Teraco continues to play a crucial role in advancing digital transformation across the continent. The strategic investment in Cape Town reflects the city’s prominence in digital connectivity and positions Teraco as a key player in Africa’s evolving technology landscape.