- Africa Data Centers has announced a new plan to expand its current facility Sameer data center in Nairobi, Kenya.
- The company has secured adjacent land to the Sameer data center and will add up to an additional 15 MW of IT load through this expansion.
- The customers will benefit from fast access to the cloud and managed services within the diverse ecosystem and increased external network options.
A business of Cassava Technologies a pan-African technology group, Africa Data Centres has disclosed that it has secured a piece of land next to its current data center Sameer facility in Nairobi, Kenya. The company intends to expand the existing facility up to an extra 15 MW of IT load. The construction is expected to be completed in the first half of 2024 and will deliver five times more than the current capacity.
Capacity increase of up to 15 MW of IT load
The new center will have 5 MW of IT load. It will be constructed on the company’s modular design with all critical plant rooms, prefabricated off-site to ensure the highest possible quality. The company says it will use local contractors to lay the base, assemble, and complete the build. The new addition will enable Africa Data Centre clients to expand and scale depending on their requirements. They can start small, increase to a medium capacity, and even benefit from a hyper-scale type of deployment in a few years. Tesh Durvasula, CEO of Africa Data Centres says;
« Colocation has become the foundation of African digital transformation and will be for the foreseeable future. Our investment into expanding our data center operations in Kenya is in line with the increasing demand that we are experiencing due to the significant increase in the adoption of digital services in the East African region. »
Africa Data Centres states that it has a strict policy that has banned the use of adiabatic systems in terms of cooling. It will not use water in any of its cooling systems. According to the company, few colocation providers have taken this step. Water and adiabatic systems are usually used for higher efficiency compared to air cooling systems. The company adds that with the newest technology if free-cooling capacity is maximized, it becomes far more efficient and saves water which is becoming a scarce commodity.
Africa Data Centres tries to optimize the topology of its electrical infrastructure and selects the most efficient solutions to drive down its Power Usage Efficiency (PUE) and maximize energy efficiency. With the additional facility, customers will take advantage of fast access to the cloud and managed services within the diverse ecosystem and increased external network options delivered by Africa Data Centres’ extensive connectivity partners.
Additionally, nearly 70% of grid power is sourced from green energy in Kenya. Africa Data Centres benefits from this to meet its sustainability objectives as no company can achieve zero carbon emissions on its own. This latest announcement is a step forward in the company’s expansion plans announced in 2021, which will see Africa Data Centres investing $500m into building hyperscale data centers across Africa.