Intelligent Data Centres Issue 35 | Page 61

Vantage enters African market with US $ 1 billion flagship campus

Sustainable design
The design is based on Vantage ’ s standardised campus blueprint , which emphasises sustainable construction practices such as offering renewable energy options , limiting carbon footprints and maintaining energy efficient operations with an industry-leading Power Usage Effectiveness ( PUE ).
Sustainable building features include permeable landscaping and natural on-site drainage to protect precious resources . Vantage will invest in recycling , motion-sensor LED lighting and other elements for incremental energy and water savings throughout the campus , in addition to electric vehicle charging stations .
Power and cooling

Vantage Data Centers , a leading global provider of hyperscale data centre campuses , has announced that it has begun construction of its first African campus in Johannesburg , South Africa , leveraging a US $ 1 billion investment from existing financial partners . The 80MW campus will be in Johannesburg ’ s Waterfall City , a thriving business and data centre ecosystem in the heart of the continent ’ s largest data centre market . This marks Vantage ’ s entry into its fifth continent . From its initial US roots , Vantage previously expanded to two Canadian markets in early 2019 , to six European markets in 2020 and to five markets in Asia Pacific in 2021 .

“ Vantage has seen strong demand from our customers for high quality , hyperscale data centre facilities across the globe and we are excited to meet this demand by expanding to Africa ’ s largest market ,” said Sureel Choksi , President and CEO ,
Vantage Data Centers . “ With our global expansion over the last two and half years , we have become one of the fastest growing hyperscale data centre providers in the world .”
The carrier-neutral Johannesburg campus will consist of three facilities across 30 acres ( 12 hectares ) with 650,000 square feet ( 60,000 square meters ) of data centre space once fully developed . The first phase of the campus , slated for completion in the summer of 2022 , will include a 16MW building .
“ 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 ,” said Antoine Boniface , President , Vantage EMEA . “ We look forward to not only opening the doors of our first African facility to our customers , but also to becoming part of the local community .”
Powered by ESKOM , the campus will benefit from a dedicated on-site , highvoltage substation . It will be cooled using a highly efficient , closed-loop chilled water system generated through aircooled chillers .
An integrated economizer capability will allow reduced compressor energy based on outside ambient temperature so that when the weather is favourable , cooling becomes more sustainable and less resource intensive .
Security and amenities
The company ’ s hallmark security measures include an on-site security operations centre with 24x7x365 patrols , perimeter security , CCTV on all access points and multi-level authentication and access controls for employees , customers and visitors .
Vantage also designs comfortable employee and customer areas to help personnel do their best work . ◊
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