National datacenters to be
tendered by Government

Bids through private public partnership

The Ministry of Telecommunication (MoT) is planning to build datacenters hosting a local cloud platform, to be owned, managed, and operated by the private sector through the Private Public Partnership law (PPP).

The Ministry will provide the land. The project is divided into four phases, with an ultimate cost for each phase estimated at $50 million. The bidding is expected to be announced this November.

Imad Abou Rached, Procurement Director at OGERO, said that the MoT is finalizing the technical description for the datacenters with consultants. The process requires certification by the Uptime Institute, a USA based entity, which organizes and monitors datacenter criteria worldwide. The project will cater for storage space and software running services for public entities, private banks and companies, and local individuals.

The proposed plan will follow Uptime Institute Tier 3 practice, which involves a 1+1 model, according to Abou Rached. The model includes two active datacenters. The first will be located in Dekweneh, and the second in Erbaniyye, which was selected for safety and security reasons. The total built area will reach 800 square meters for each, and involves a solar system designed to provide for the centers' electrical needs.

Reported by Samer Rasbey