The Cape Town Municipal Planning Court has approved the land rezoning application, marking a crucial step forward for Equinix's two data centers. South Africa is becoming a hub for data centers in Africa. Equinix has invested 890 million rand to purchase land and plans to add 160 megawatts of capacity. The investment plan of 438 million US dollars is accelerating its implementation.

The dual face of a data center

In July, the Cape Town Municipal Planning Court approved the land rezoning application of King David Country Club. The involved plot is located in the King Air Industry industrial park next to Cape Town International Airport, with a total area undisclosed. It was originally planned as a general industrial and mixed use land. After the unified re partitioning, Equinix will build two data centers here. The court believes that the project has a positive socio-economic impact, can create employment, and support the development of digital infrastructure.

But not everyone welcomes the arrival of this data center. The local housing council and Foxglove UK jointly raised objections, expressing concerns about the project's impact on energy and water security. The court responded that the relevant details will be supplemented in the subsequent site development plan. Previously, Sandile Dube, General Manager of Equinix South Africa, had promised to maintain transparency and promptly inform stakeholders of progress.

7.5 billion rand of computing power layout in Africa

In March 2026, Equinix has invested 890 million rand (approximately 52 million US dollars) in land purchases in Johannesburg and Cape Town, with a total of 327000 square meters of land designated and plans to add 160 megawatts of data center capacity. This is the core part of the company's 7.5 billion rand (approximately 438 million US dollars) investment plan in Africa. Keywords: data center, Africa

In October 2024, Equinix opened South Africa's first data center JN1 in Johannesburg, with an initial IT load of 4 megawatts, and will reach 20 megawatts upon full completion. According to Bloomberg NEF data, the current operational capacity of data centers in Africa is about 409 megawatts, less than 1% of the global total, with South Africa accounting for about three-quarters of the share. It is predicted that the size of the South African data center market will grow from approximately $2.6 billion in 2025 to over $5 billion by 2031.Editor/Cheng Liting