November 20, 2023 - Ceuta, an autonomous city of Spain on the north coast of Africa, is set to get its first data center.
The data center is planned to span 2,450 sqm (26,372 sq ft) at the west pier of the Port Authority of Ceuta, and is designed to a Tier III standard. It will have an initial capacity of 1.2MW, expandable to 2.4MW.
Construction is set to be completed by the end of the year, and will generate around 130 direct and indirect jobs for this period, and ultimately between 1,000 and 2,000 when the data center is operational.
The facility has been designed by PQC Engineering, and is the result of investment from Avangreen, the city of Ceuta, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Government Delegation and Port Authority of Ceuta.
Juan Manuel Doncel, president of the Port Authority of Ceuta, said: "This private investment will become the most relevant in recent years. It is a project based on digital strategic development given the current needs of a changing world that demands, with increasing frequency, the generation of more and diverse data."
PQC added in a statement that the data center can be expanded in data centers and "will be a reference data center in the area of the Strait of Gibraltar and North Africa."
The data center is part of wider investment efforts from Avangreen. According to the company's CEO, Avangreen has invested €40 million ($43.6m) in infrastructure for the city, €15m ($16.3m) of which will go to the data center.
Also included is a photovoltaic (solar) plant comprised of 3,600 solar panels which will be used to power the data center, and another hydrogen generation plant.
Avangreen is a multinational company that helps public and private institutions in the development of sustainability strategies working in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and America.
