The expansion will cover a total build-up area of around 31,000 sq m across the existing facilities in Abu Dhabi and Dubai out of which there will be 7,500 sq m of IT whitespace.
The growth of the dedicated commercial wholesale data centre provider in the UAE “demonstrates the confidence that organisations have in our data centre capabilities”, said Hassan Al Naqbi, CEO of carrier-neutral Khazna.
“Outsourcing data centre capabilities allows companies to focus on their core operations. Our wholesale model provides our customers with the benefits of both renting and owning their data centre space. The expansion of our facilities is an indicator that our clients are looking towards long-term growth strategies in the region.”
In a bid to provide customers with seamless data experiences, international companies are increasingly looking to host within the region. Data sovereignty and latency issues are key driving factors - and with technology infrastructure being key to the UAE Innovation Strategy and the wider UAE Vision 2021, the country is viewed as an attractive ICT hub.
Khazna is focused on setting an industry standard for energy efficiency by setting regional lows for its Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) factor, which measures how a computer data centre uses energy; specifically, how much energy is used by computing equipment, in contrast to cooling and other overheads.
With its Abu Dhabi-based facility targeting a PUE rating of 1.6, Khazna’s data centre is designed to be 40% more energy efficient than a typical data centre in the UAE. The new facilities will also target a Pearl 3 rating as per the Estidama system, the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council green building code that sets a regional benchmark for energy, water and waste management for built environments.
Al Naqbi added: “The expansion of our footprint on what is already the UAE’s largest dedicated wholesale data centre demonstrates the growing demand for carrier neutral data centre. Not only are organisations looking for highly secure environments, but also reliable providers so that they can focus on their core business operations. We will be working closely with Laing O’Rourke to double Khazna’s data centre capacity, and look forward to launching our new facilities as this portfolio growth is an indicator that our clients are looking towards long-term growth strategies in the region.”
Laing O’Rourke has been appointed to design, build and fit-out Khazna Data Centres’ Pods 4, 5 and 6 in Dubai and Abu Dhabi doubling its data centre capacity. The scope of the projects includes full design responsibility, construction of a two-storey building for each pod, and all specialist mechanical, electrical and plumbing works.
Mark Andrews, managing director for Laing O’Rourke’s Middle East business, said: “We are delighted to extend our long-term client relationship with Khazna on these prestigious data centre projects. Integrating our Group’s design, construction and fit-out talents in one team provides clients with a clear advantage in terms of surety of delivery.”
Design work has commenced with on-site works due to begin in early 2018. The projects are scheduled for handover in summer 2019 in Dubai and autumn 2019 in Abu Dhabi. The project will be led by project director Vijay Gangakhedkar.
The new facilities will be completed by end of 2019, and are expected to service multinational corporations across a broad range of industries.
