(3 Minutes Read)
Located along the R24 highway in Ekurhuleni, Teraco’s JB5 data centre is a commanding presence and a milestone in engineering excellence. Set to become fully operational within the next two months, the facility is already partially live, with-IT workloads running and the remaining capacity fully booked.
MyBroadband recently toured the site with Teraco CEO Jan Hnizdo, who described the structure as “almost breathing” — a nod to the temperature-controlled airflows from its advanced cooling systems. As you move through the building, you can feel alternating currents of warm and cool air, a testament to the precision engineering involved.
The construction scale is staggering. To support the immense weight of cooling systems, water tanks, and client hardware, JB5’s build required:
- 3.8 million bricks
- 802 tonnes of structural steel
- 5,427 tonnes of reinforcement steel
- 28,929 cubic metres of concrete
During the tour, a data hall undergoing commissioning was using resistive load banks — devices that simulate real server loads with heating elements and fans — to stress-test the energy and cooling systems. These tests help ensure that each hall can meet demanding performance thresholds before going live. Two Teraco Energy Modules and four corresponding data halls have already been commissioned, achieving a combined load of 10MW.
Read Also;
https://trendsnafrica.com/egypt-to-set-up-a-new-data-centre-with-uae-assistance/
Designed to deliver 30MW of power, JB5 will also be Teraco’s first facility purpose-built to support AI workloads at scale, including high-density, heat-intensive hyperscaler GPUs.
To maintain optimal performance, JB5 uses a closed-loop water-cooling system, providing efficient thermal regulation while minimising dependency on municipal water supplies. Additionally, the facility harnesses outside air for natural cooling, reducing environmental impact and operational risk.
Arabic
Chinese (Simplified)
Danish
English
French
Hindi
Italian
Norwegian
Portuguese
Russian
Spanish
Swedish