Africa Data Centres, a business of pan-African technology group Cassava Technologies, says it has officially broken ground on an additional data centre facility in Nairobi. The new build will see the existing facility on the adjacent piece of land expanded up to an extra 15MW of IT load.
The company’s expansion at the new site will be completed in the first half of 2024. It will bring five times more capacity than is currently installed.
The new data facility will begin with 5MW of IT load and will be built in Africa Data Centres' leading-edge modular design – described as an innovative approach that sees the entire facility, including all critical plant rooms, prefabricated off-site. This ensures the highest possible quality, says the company, while local contractors will still benefit from contracts to lay foundations, assemble and complete the build.
In terms of cooling, ADC has a strict policy of not using adiabatic systems. "We do not use water in any of our cooling systems and are one of the few colocation providers who have taken this step," said Tesh Durvasula, CEO of Africa Data Centres.
While the common belief might be that water and adiabatic systems are more efficient than air cooling systems, this simply is not the case, says ADC. "With the newest technology, if free-cooling capacity is maximised, it becomes far more efficient and saves water, which is becoming a critical commodity, particularly in Africa."
Durvasula added that Africa Data Centre is fortunate in Kenya as almost 70% of grid power is from green energy sources.
The company's expansion plans, announced in 2021, will see Africa Data Centres investing US$500 million into building hyperscale data centres across Africa with the support of the US Development Finance Corporation.
