Khazna Data Centers, headquartered in the UAE, unveiled its plan to enter the Egyptian market with Benya Group through an investment worth $250 million to build a state-of-the-art data centre which will be Egypt’s first hyper-scale data centre.

The project will be built at the Maadi Technology Park, the first specialised investment zone in Egypt, with an expected capacity of 25 megawatt (MW) of IT load.

The facility marks the first in a series of hyper-scale data centres that Benya and Khazna introduce to the Egyptian market in the future, aiming to leverage the Arab republic’s strategic location, according to a press release.

The construction of the new data center is expected to commence later in 2023, with an objective to be completed within three years.

Inaugurating the first-of-kind in Egypt data center will unlock opportunities for businesses in the African nation with the goal of expanding internationally and targeting multinational corporations that seek growth and innovation in the Middle East and North African markets.

It will further address the need for a future-ready digital infrastructure in Egypt and support Khazna’s growth strategy into international markets.

Chairman and CEO of Benya Group, Ahmed Mekky, said: “We are thrilled to announce our partnership with Khazna, which will enable us to enter the hyper-scale data center construction sector with full force.”

Mekky added: “This [memorandum of understanding] MoU we signed represents a significant step towards strengthening our role in establishing this type of data centers in Egypt, with the support of our partner, Khazna Data Centers, which has an excellent reputation and outstanding expertise in this sector.”

He elaborated: “It [the data centre] will contribute to attracting more investments for business sectors involving intensive operations, supporting cloud computing and content system operators. In addition, it will encourage major commercial companies to join these giant digital clusters that rely on the latest cloud computing applications, digital technology, and big data.”

CEO of Khazna, Hassan Alnaqbi, said: “This collaboration with Benya Group marks a significant milestone in the expansion of Khazna’s regional presence. We are confident that our expertise and track record in delivering high-quality hyper-scale data centers combined with Benya’s local knowledge and experience, will enable us to provide customers with the best-in-class data center services in the region transforming Egypt into a vital hub for data storage supporting the growth of its digital economy.”

Meanwhile, Hossam Heiba, President of Egypt’s General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI), said: “This great project comes in line with Egypt’s plan to localize information technology and data centers, especially given the significant development witnessed by the technological infrastructure sector in Egypt.”