A second big data centre story this month has come from the Democratic Republic of Congo as it inaugurates a US$30 million data centre from Raxio Group, said to be Africa’s leading carrier-neutral Tier III data centre operator.
Located in Limete on the southeast of Kinshasa, the two-storey Raxio DRC1 spans 1,542 square metres and is the country’s largest data centre.
DRC1’s modern design can house up to 400 racks and can reliably deliver 1.5MW of IT power to customer equipment. The 24/7 ‘always-on’ facility is located along key fibre routes, delivering best-in-class colocation and connectivity services.
Multiple paths for power and cooling systems underpin the centre’s Tier III certification, while the usage of cutting edge components guarantees what are described as unmatched levels of efficiency and a commitment to sustainability principles.
The project was announced in 2021 and broke ground on construction in early 2023.
Robert Mullins, CEO of Raxio Group says: “DRC is one of Africa’s largest and fastest-growing markets with an existing latent demand for digital products and services that is forecast to soar in the coming years. With this facility, we are providing the critical infrastructure essential to supporting the digital economy and enhancing connectivity – and we expect to expand our presence in DRC through additional capacity and new facilities in years to come.”
The DRC launch aligns with the government’s Plan National du Numerique to make expansive digitalisation a catalyst for economic growth, competitiveness and social inclusion, while enabling a range of public and private sector cloud-based digital services.
The provision of data centres is one of the key pillars of the government plan, improving the digital landscape through reduced latency for real-time applications and providing a reliable backbone for mobile and internet connectivity.
This is not the only recent major data centre news from DRC. Less than two weeks ago we reported that the first phase of OADC Texaf Digital, a joint venture between African data centre company Open Access Data Centres (OADC) and TEXAF, a major long-term investor in the economy of the Democratic Republic of Congo, was live in Kinshasa.
