UK-based professional services company Turner and Townsend (T&T) has completed the project management on an expansion programme for Khazna Data Center – expanding its existing facilities in Masdar City in Abu Dhabi and Meydan in Dubai.

Khazna, which is majority-owned by Mubadala Investment Company, is the only dedicated commercial wholesale data centre provider in the UAE and one of the largest data centre infrastructure operators in the Middle East.

The expansion – comprising two new modular data centres at a size of approximately 17,166 sq m – has delivered an additional IT load of 7.5 megawatts at each facility, one in Meydan Dubai and the other in Masdar City Abu Dhabi, allowing the firm to meet increasing customer demands and serve growing IT demand across the region. With the completion of the expansion works, the two facilities boast a total IT load capacity in excess of 26 megawatts.

Playing an integral role in the development, T&T provided services spanning project management and design management through to contract administration, planning and health & safety consultancy services on the expansion of both data centres.

Throughout the procurement and construction stages, T&T also led a team of technical consultants and cost consultants including WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff and AECOM.

We provided innovative and efficient design support, allowing for a 30 percent saving in the overall gross floor area of the existing utility building, and leading to the data centre achieving an Estidama Pearl 3 rating – the first time a data centre of such magnitude has achieved this in the UAE.

Iyad Khalas, director of operations at Khazna, said: “This expansion is a milestone for us, bolstering our strategic position within the industry and enabling us to provide additional IT load capability across the region to meet growing customer demand.

“Turner & Townsend were invaluable as partners on a project of this size – bringing global experience in project management for data centre infrastructure and specialist knowledge of the UAE market. Their appointment ensured we were able to deliver the new data centres efficiently.”

Andrew Pettigrew, project director, said: “As data requirements accelerate in the Middle East, we’re seeing greater demand to deliver new infrastructure. We’re proud to support Khazna in its quest to be the main provider of data centre space within this emerging market, and were well-placed to draw on our market intelligence, work collaboratively with the local authorities, contractors and operators, and ensure the new data centres were completed on time and on budget.” –TradeArabia News Service