Market profile
South Africa
For South Africa, Daily Maverick reported in February 2026 that announced expansions would push IT load above 1,200 MW. Teraco is building JB7 with 40 MW of critical load and its own 120 MW solar plant to wheel power over the Eskom grid.
- Tracked project records
- 3
- Policy records
- 0
- Cloud regions
- 0
- Last checked
- 19 Oct 2026
Overview
In Cape Town, Teraco completed its CT2 expansion in November 2025, adding 32 MW in eight new data halls and taking the facility to 50 MW of critical IT load. Microsoft announced a further ZAR 5.4 billion for cloud and AI infrastructure in South Africa by the end of 2027, without site or MW details.
Grid context
Operators are building their own renewable generation and wheeling it across the Eskom network to secure supply.
Tracked projects
| Project | Level | Stage | Operator or developer | Latest change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft South Africa cloud and AI infrastructure expansion | project | Announced | Microsoft | not disclosed |
| Teraco CT2 (Cape Town) | campus | Operating | Teraco | not disclosed |
| Teraco JB7 (Isando campus, Ekurhuleni) | campus | Under construction | Teraco | not disclosed |
Capacity in tracked public coverage
Tracked public coverage, not a national total. Sums of reported, project-level figures from 0 of the 3 published project records we track for South Africa. Each metric and each delivery class is summed on its own and never added to another. Confirmed operating capacity never includes design or ultimate capacity. Delayed projects are never counted as under construction now. Campus and phase figures are not double counted. Ranges and upper bounds are not summed. Unknown values are not counted as zero.
None of the tracked project records for South Africa has a figure that can be summed yet. Figures with an unclear basis and undisclosed values are never added. Each project page lists its reported figures as published. Not disclosed is not zero.
Figures not counted (3) and why
- Microsoft South Africa cloud and AI infrastructure expansion
- Investment ZAR 5.4 billion: Marked not summable by research: ZAR billions by end of 2027
- Teraco CT2 (Cape Town)
- IT power 50 MW: Marked not summable by research: Critical IT load after expansion
- Teraco JB7 (Isando campus, Ekurhuleni)
- IT power 40 MW: Marked not summable by research: Critical power load (IT) of JB7
Method: capacity rules. Company-wide investment, area figures and third-party market estimates are never included in these sums.
Hyperscaler and AI cloud activity in South Africa
3 tracked projects in South Africa, of which 1 involve a hyperscaler or AI cloud as owner, operator, developer or a stated or reported tenant. Part of the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region on the hyperscaler and cloud hub.
| Project | Stage | Operator, developer or owner | Hyperscaler or AI tenant | Announced | Expected |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft South Africa cloud and AI infrastructure expansion Gauteng and Western Cape | Announced | Microsoft | not stated | 2025-03-06 | not stated |
Capacity, forecasts and market share: South Africa
Every number is shown as published, with its basis, date and source. Figures with different bases (IT power, grid connection, electricity use) or from different sources are never added or blended. Where no figure exists we say not publicly reported. CoolPower makes no forecasts of its own.
Current capacity and pipeline
| Figure | What it measures | State | Period or as of | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| more than 1,200 MW Third-party reported | IT power IT load if announced expansions are delivered, as reported (Teraco alone nearly 190 MW of IT load today) Source statement (paraphrased): "push IT load above 1,200 MW" | Planned | 2026-02-09 | Daily Maverick (opens in a new tab) Published 9 Feb 2026. Accessed 19 Oct 2026. |
Forecasts and scenarios
Forecast: not publicly reported by a named publisher in a source we could check.
Cloud market share
Provider market share: not publicly reported. No public provider market share by country was found except mainland China (Omdia via DCD). Every other country page shows not publicly reported.
Cloud regions in South Africa
A cloud region is a provider's service area. It is not a data centre campus and has no MW figure here.
No cloud regions recorded.
Policy timeline
No policy records published.
Operators and developers
Sources (5), last checked 19 Oct 2026
- Major SA data centre expansion plans emerge, set to more than double current capacity (opens in a new tab), Daily Maverick, published 9 Feb 2026, accessed 19 Oct 2026
- Teraco announces JB7 and a new R8 billion syndicated loan (opens in a new tab), Teraco, published 13 Nov 2024, accessed 19 Oct 2026
- Teraco commences construction on 120MW utility-scale solar power plant (opens in a new tab), Teraco, published 12 Nov 2024, accessed 19 Oct 2026
- Teraco completes CT2 data centre expansion, increasing Cape Town’s hyperscale capacity to 50MW (opens in a new tab), Teraco, published 10 Nov 2025, accessed 19 Oct 2026
- Microsoft invests an additional ZAR 5.4bn in South Africa (opens in a new tab), Microsoft, published 6 Mar 2025, accessed 19 Oct 2026
Last checked 19 Oct 2026 by CoolPower Index research (automated, sourced). Report a correction.