Teraco begins construction on its new hyperscale data centre in Johannesburg

7 Nov 2022

The building of Teraco's new hyperscale data centre facility at its Isando Campus in Ekurhuleni, east of Johannesburg, has commenced, the company said in a statement. "The facility, known as JB5, is scheduled for completion in 2024 and will incorporate environmentally sustainable cooling and water management designs," Teraco said.

Teraco's hyperscale data centre in Cape Town | Source: Teraco

“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,” says CEO of Teraco, Jan Hnizdo.

The JB5 facility is Teraco’s eighth data centre development located in the heart of Ekurhuleni’s Aerotropolis.

It is here that Teraco’s data centres already provide access to a choice of network service providers, peering at NAPAfrica, regional IXPs, content delivery networks and cloud provider on-ramps.

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

JB5 has been designed to put sustainability first and 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 PUEs, thereby reducing the energy consumed and limiting water used in the ongoing cooling process to zero.

Key facts

JB5 comprises 55,000sqm of building structure serviced by 120MVA of utility power supply.
Located in the Isando Campus alongside JB1 and JB3, interconnected facilities with over 14,000 interconnects..
JB5 will be built in a single phase and includes 12x 1,000sqm halls..
The new data centre development is being built in line with global hyperscale requirements..
It will augment the existing portfolio of ISO9001, ISO27001, ISO50001, ISO14001, PCI-DSS and ISAE3402-certified data centre facilities.
B5 will feature environmentally conscious designs and monitoring technology to reduce water use and improve energy efficiency.