U.S.-based Vantage Data Centres is investing more than 15 billion rand ($1 billion) in its first African campus in Johannesburg.
Vantage’s carrier‐neutral 80 megawatts-capacity facility will include 60,000 square metres of data space across three facilities in Johannesburg once fully developed, making it the largest in Africa.
The first phase of the campus is slated for completion by the third quarter of 2022 and will be powered by its own on‐site, high‐voltage substation. It will be developed by Attacq, one of South Africa’s largest property developers.
Johannesburg is the data centre hub for sub‐Saharan Africa due to its strategic location, IT ecosystem, fibre connectivity to the rest of Africa and the availability of renewable energy, Antoine Boniface, the president of Vantage EMEA said.
The global provider of wholesale data centres will challenge Amazon.com, which has been expanding its presence in the emerging tech hub of Cape Town.
Microsoft has built two data centres in South Africa, one in Cape Town and one in Johannesburg, while China’s Huawei started building two data centres in South Africa in 2019.
