Status: Operational / Expansion Phase Complete | Location: Brackenfell, Cape Town
The completion of the Teraco CT2 expansion in Cape Town in January 2026 represents a pivotal moment for Africa's digital sovereignty. With an increased critical IT load of 50 MW, CT2 has officially become the largest and most interconnected data center facility in the Western Cape. This project is a response to the unprecedented demand for cloud-on-ramps and high-density AI infrastructure across the sub-Saharan region.
The facility’s strategic importance lies in its connectivity. CT2 serves as a primary landing station link for several world-class subsea cables, including Google’s Equiano and Meta’s 2Africa. By hosting NAPAfrica, the continent's largest internet exchange point, Teraco enables sub-millisecond peering for over 7,000 interconnects, effectively making Cape Town a "Global Digital Gateway" that bridges African traffic to Europe and South America.
In early 2026, the technical focus has shifted toward AI Readiness. The newly commissioned halls at CT2 are designed to support liquid-to-liquid cooling, a necessity for the 2026-era high-density GPU racks used in AI training and inference. To address the region’s historical water challenges, Teraco has implemented an AI-driven, zero-water closed-loop cooling system. This technology uses real-time sensors to adjust cooling based on heat dispersion patterns, ensuring maximum efficiency without consuming municipal water.
Sustainability is the project's standout feature. Teraco has pioneered a "Wheeling" model in South Africa, where energy from its own 120MW solar PV plant is fed into the national grid and balanced against the consumption of the CT2 facility. This ensures that the campus operates with a high percentage of renewable energy despite the local grid’s complexities. This 2026 expansion not only doubles the campus's previous capacity but also sets a blueprint for sustainable, high-density digital growth in water-scarce environments.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Project Name | Teraco CT2 - Cape Town Campus Expansion |
| Location | Brackenfell, Cape Town |
| Status | Operational / Expansion Phase Complete |
| Commissioning | January 2026 (Final Phase Handover) |
| Total IT Load | 50 MW (Campus Total) |
| Total Capacity | 73,000 sq. m. building structure |
| Tier Level | Tier III+ (Global Hyperscale Standard) |
| Project Type | Colocation / Hyperscale Hub |
| Header | Details |
|---|---|
| City Name | CapeTown |
| Population | City/Metro population: ~4.77 million (2022 Census figure for the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality). |
| Urban Agglomeration | Estimated Metro / Urban Agglomeration (2026): ~5.15 million. |
| City GDP | C40 dataset: ~$91.9 billion (USD) (approximate global dataset estimate). |
| Per Capita Income | Nearly R145,306 (~2023 data), higher than provincial and national averages. |
| City Tier | 2) Global city networks (GaWC / global indices): |
| Key Strengths | One of Africa’s top 3 economic hubs and a leading contributor to South Africa’s economy. |
| Header | Details |
|---|---|
| Developer / Operator | Teraco Data Environments |
| Strategic Infrastructure Partner | Digital Realty |
| Construction Contractor | WBHO / Regional Contractors |
| MEP Engineering | Royal HaskoningDHV |
| Network Connectivity | NAPAfrica (Peering Hub) / 2Africa / Equiano |
| Power Infrastructure | Eskom / City of Cape Town |
| Header | Details |
|---|---|
| Power Capacity | 90 MW Utility Power Feed |
| UPS Redundancy | N+1 / 2N Distributed |
| Cooling System | AI-driven Zero-Water Closed-Loop Cooling |
| Connectivity | Connected to all major subsea cables (Equiano, 2Africa) |
| PUE Target | 1.28 |
| Energy Mix | Wheeling from Teraco's 120MW Solar PV Plant |
| Header | Details |
|---|---|
| Announcement | 22 Nov 2024 (Phase 2 expansion) |
| Construction Start | Q1 2025 |
| Phase 1 Go-Live | Operational (Legacy) |
| Full Buildout | January 2026 (Current Status) |
| Header | Details |
|---|---|
| Total Investment | ~US $250 Million (Expansion Phase) |
| Funding | Private Equity + Syndicated Sustainability Loans |
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