Egypt is reviewing plans for a new $270 million data centre that could add up to 80 megawatts of capacity to the country’s digital infrastructure and strengthen its ambitions to become a regional hub for cloud and data services.
The project, known as the “Chemist” data centre, is being developed by Intro Holding Group in the Sakhna Industrial Zone within the Suez Canal Economic Zone.
The first phase is expected to reach 80MW of capacity, with investment estimated at $270 million. The facility is planned to provide cloud computing, Internet of Things (IoT) and digital transformation services to major businesses requiring advanced data processing and hosting capabilities.
Egypt’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Raafat Hendy, recently met with Intro Holding Group’s chairman to review the project’s implementation plans, including its expected timeline and engineering requirements.
Intro is targeting the facility as the first Tier III-rated data centre of its kind in the Suez Canal Economic Zone. While engineering designs have not yet been completed, the company has already signed agreements with several suppliers for equipment and other infrastructure needed for the project.
The investment comes as Egypt expands efforts to attract private capital into data centres and cloud computing. The government has been working on measures aimed at encouraging investment in facilities that meet international standards while building the infrastructure needed to support rising demand for data storage, processing and cloud services.
Egypt is also pursuing broader investments in the sector. Earlier in September, Vodafone Business, Elsewedy Electric and Cassava Technologies announced projects that could eventually deliver up to 200MW of data centre capacity, alongside plans for a sovereign AI data centre.
For Egypt, the strategy is tied to its geographical position and extensive submarine cable connections, which the government sees as potential advantages in developing the country into a regional data and cloud infrastructure hub.
The proposed Chemist facility therefore adds another major project to Egypt’s growing digital infrastructure pipeline, as demand for cloud computing, AI and locally hosted data continues to expand across the region.
