South Africa faces calls to block U.S.-listed firm's entry into Africa's largest data centre market

A planned expansion by U.S.-listed data centre operator Equinix in South Africa has come under scrutiny from community groups and activists, highlighting growing concerns about the environmental impact of the continent's rapidly expanding digital infrastructure sector.

• Community groups in South Africa have raised environmental concerns over Equinix's planned data centre expansion in Cape Town.
• Activists argue that authorities should not approve the project without detailed disclosures on its water, electricity, emissions, and other impacts.
• Cape Town's history of drought and water shortages makes the issue especially sensitive.
• Equinix has purchased land but claims no development applications have yet been filed, promising transparency if they proceed.

The Housing Assembly (HA), a social movement representing more than 20 communities in South Africa's Western Cape province, and UK-based non-profit Foxglove have lodged a formal objection to a proposed development involving two large data centres in Cape Town.

According to documents reviewed by Reuters, the facilities could have a combined power demand of up to 160 megawatts.

The groups argue that local authorities should not approve the project without detailed disclosures on water consumption, electricity use, emissions, noise levels and other environmental impacts.

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"There is simply not enough information for a decision on a project of this scale," said Rosa Curling, co-executive director at Foxglove, citing unanswered questions around water use, backup power systems, air pollution and building specifications.

The issue is particularly sensitive in Cape Town, a city that has grappled with severe droughts and water shortages in recent years.

Equinix, however, said it has not yet submitted any planning applications for the Cape Town site. The company confirmed it had completed the purchase of land in the city but said no development approvals have been sought.

"Should we decide to proceed with any development, we are committed to being fully transparent and will provide detailed information to all relevant stakeholders in a timely manner," the company said.

Equinix added that it routinely engages local utilities, government authorities and community stakeholders early in the planning process to better understand local priorities.

Africa's data centre boom gathers pace

The dispute comes as Africa experiences a surge in data centre investment, driven by growing internet usage, cloud computing adoption, artificial intelligence applications and broader digital transformation efforts across the continent.

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As businesses, governments and consumers generate increasing volumes of digital data, demand for local data storage and processing capacity has risen sharply. This has attracted global investors seeking to establish infrastructure closer to African users while reducing latency and improving regulatory compliance.

South Africa remains the continent's largest data centre market, benefiting from relatively advanced telecommunications infrastructure, extensive fibre networks and strong connectivity through multiple international submarine cables.

South Africa hosts 12 cloud providers in Cape Town and Johannesburg, including Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, AWS, and Huawei. Egypt has five in Cairo, while Nairobi hosts three (AWS, Microsoft Azure, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure).

Global firms such as Equinix, Digital Realty-backed operators, Africa Data Centres and other infrastructure investors have announced expansion plans across the continent in recent years.

The growth of cloud services from major technology companies including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft and Google has further accelerated demand for data centre space.

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Industry analysts expect Africa's data centre sector to continue expanding over the coming decade as governments pursue digital economy strategies and businesses increasingly shift operations online.

However, the concerns raised in Cape Town highlights a challenge facing the industry globally: balancing digital growth with environmental sustainability. Data centres require substantial amounts of electricity and, depending on their cooling systems, can also place pressure on local water resources.

As Africa accelerates investments in digital infrastructure, developers and policymakers may face increasing pressure to demonstrate that economic and technological gains can be achieved without placing undue strain on local communities and natural resources.