• Teraco expands its CT2 data centre in Cape Town, boosting power capacity to 50MW to support Africa’s fast-growing digital economy.
• The facility uses AI-driven, zero-water cooling to improve energy efficiency and sustainability amid Cape Town’s recurring water shortages.
• This investment strengthens South Africa’s position as a key data hub, linking Africa to global networks and accelerating cloud growth.

Teraco, a subsidiary of Digital Realty and a leading provider of data centres in Africa, has completed a significant expansion of its CT2 hyperscale facility in Cape Town. The company announced that the upgrade raises the total energy capacity dedicated to computing — known as IT load — to 50 megawatts. In simple terms, this means CT2 can now deliver enough power to run tens of thousands of servers at once, significantly strengthening South Africa’s role as a digital and cloud services hub for the continent.

The expansion comes at a time when demand for digital infrastructure in Africa is rising sharply. Businesses, governments, and startups are increasingly relying on cloud platforms, data analytics, and artificial intelligence to deliver services and drive innovation. These technologies require vast amounts of computing power and energy. Teraco’s investment in CT2 directly addresses this surge in demand, ensuring that companies operating in Africa have access to reliable, large-scale infrastructure without depending entirely on facilities located overseas.

According to Teraco’s CEO, Jan Hnizdo, the project is part of the company’s long-term plan to accelerate data processing and connectivity in Africa and make them more resilient. “This expansion underlines our commitment to helping businesses scale easily and securely,” he said. “Africa’s digital transformation is accelerating, and we’re investing to make sure the continent has the world-class infrastructure it needs.” The CT2 site is linked to several major undersea fibre-optic cables that land in Cape Town, including Google’s Equiano and Meta’s 2Africa systems, creating one of the most interconnected data hubs on the continent.

Beyond power and connectivity, the new CT2 facility also reflects a shift toward sustainability. Cape Town faces periodic water shortages, so Teraco has installed a zero-water cooling system that keeps servers at the right temperature without consuming fresh water. The system uses artificial intelligence to monitor temperature and energy use in real time, improving efficiency and reducing waste. This makes CT2 one of the most environmentally conscious data centres in Africa.

Teraco’s investment also fits within a broader trend in South Africa’s technology sector. The country’s data centre market, valued at about $2.16 billion in 2024, is expected to reach $3.4 billion by 2030, driven by cloud adoption, fintech growth, and international tech investment. Alongside Teraco, companies such as Equinix, MTN, Vodacom Business, and Africa Data Centres are expanding their own operations to capture this growing market. With the completion of CT2, Teraco’s total power capacity now stands at 189 megawatts across its network of facilities in Cape Town, Johannesburg, and Durban.

By boosting the energy and computing capacity of its centres, Teraco is helping lay the foundation for Africa’s digital future. The CT2 expansion strengthens the continent’s connectivity with the rest of the world, supports the rise of cloud and AI technologies, and demonstrates that Africa can host world-class, sustainable digital infrastructure. In doing so, Teraco is not only expanding its own footprint but also powering the next stage of Africa’s digital transformation.

Hikmatu Bilali, Edited by Idriss Linge