Municipal authorities in Cape Town have granted approval for US-listed infrastructure giant Equinix to develop two data centres in the King Air Industria area. The decision marks a major step forward for the company amid surging demand for digital infrastructure across Africa, though it has drawn sharp opposition from community activists and tech advocacy groups over the project’s energy, water, and environmental footprint.
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The planned facilities are projected to require approximately 170MW of power capacity, positioning the development as one of the largest single data centre projects proposed in South Africa.
To put this scale into perspective, Teraco, currently Africa’s largest data centre operator, maintains roughly 189MW of critical power capacity across its entire portfolio of African campuses. Equinix’s single Cape Town footprint would rival that total capacity.
The approval follows formal objections lodged during tribunal hearings by South African grassroots movement Housing Assembly and UK-based advocacy group Foxglove, represented by the Legal Resources Centre. Opponents argued that the developer provided insufficient disclosure regarding the project’s resource requirements, particularly concerning local water security and electricity grid strain.
“We have seen this playbook from US big tech companies again and again: turn up in a community, tell them as little as possible about the huge harm the data centre will cause, and leave the people living there to pick up the pieces,” said Rosa Curling, Co-Executive Director at Foxglove.
Following the tribunal’s decision, the coalition of opposing organizations confirmed they are currently evaluating grounds for a formal appeal.
An Equinix spokesperson confirmed that while the company has acquired the property, it has not yet submitted a formal Site Development Plan (SDP)—the statutory filing under South African planning law that governs exact layout and operational parameters.
The company emphasized its intention to maintain stakeholder dialogue moving forward:
- Transparency: Equinix pledged to release detailed operational information to relevant stakeholders if the project proceeds.
- Community Engagement: The company stated that it consults early with local utilities, government leaders, and community representatives to align with local priorities before finalizing development decisions.
