Zutari completes MEP upgrade for Africa Data Centres’ Cape Town 1 expansion

Leading consulting engineering and infrastructure advisory practice Zutari has completed the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing upgrade for the 6 MW capacity expansion at the Cape Town 1 (CPT1) facility of Africa Data Centres.

The fast-track project posed a challenge in that it was a Brownfield site with existing structures. “We had to work around the existing live facility. We used 3D modelling and had to explore the use of existing underground tunnels, to aid in drainage under the existing building.”

These tunnels were evaluated for reticulation of electrical cables and drainage. It was a live facility, so there were many procedures we had to follow,” outlines Stan Rudman, Technical Director, Mechanical Engineering. “We also completed the first fan wall cooling unit installation, which was a first for the client,” says Rudman, adding that the facility is currently fully operational.

Looking at some current trends in data centre design, Rudman points to higher temperatures, lower water usage, increased load density, and future fit-out for liquid cooling technologies. These are all aimed at improving efficiency, he says.

The latest expansion at Africa Data Centres, a long-standing client of Zutari, has added 1 000 racks of white space available for customers to lease. The expansion added three state-of-the-art halls and another 6 MW of critical IT load, effectively doubling the facility’s capacity. It included two colocation halls and a hyperscale hall built using a cutting-edge modular design for rapid scalability.