France: Océinde Starts Construction on New Facility on Reunion Island

The island of Reunion will receive a new carrier-neutral data center. Local conglomerate Océinde is scheduled to construct a data center in the French department in the Indian Ocean, as first reported by DC Mag. Last week, construction began on the new facility in the Le Port Commune in the island's northwest. The facility will be called Omega 1 and will open in the third quarter of 2024, according to a November 2022 announcement. With an investment of $10,9 million, a 1 MW, 120-rack facility will be constructed. Solar panels on the roof will provide up to 10 percent of the site's energy requirements.

The Océinde Group's chairman and chief executive officer, Nassir Goulamaly, stated that the opening of their territories abroad must be a complete accomplishment. It traverses the maritime, air, and digital domains. With the completion of this data center project begun more than a decade ago, they hope to transform Reunion Island into a global digital hub at the confluence of the African and Asian continents. Océinde, which was founded in 1970, has made investments in firms specializing in building materials, paint, aquaculture, fisheries, heat pump provider Sdeec, and Reunion telco Zeop. Le Port, Saint Paul, and Sainte Marie are the landing stations for the Lower Indian Ocean Network (LION), SAFE, and Meltingpot Indianocean Submarine System (METISS) cables, respectively.