Norwegian telco Telenor, energy company Hafslund and investment fund HitecVision are building a data center in Oslo, Norway, via a newly formed joint venture, Skygard. These companies are to make a NOK 2.4 billion ($200m) joint investment in this data center which is already undergoing construction in Hovinbyen, Oslo.
The ownership of this newly formed joint venture, Skygard, will be divided equally, with all three companies having a 31.7 percent state. Consultancy firm Analysys Mason holds the remaining five percent. Specifications of the new facility have not been shared. However, it is expected to launch operations in the first half of 2025.
Elise Lindeberg, the director of security from the Norwegian Communications Authority, has been appointed as CEO of Skygard. She said: “There is extensive digitization in all sectors of society, leading to an increasing number of important and critical services relying on good digital solutions and security. Data storage plays a significant role, and I look forward to contributing to building up Skygard.”
Jannicke Hilland, chair of the board at Skygard and EVP for infrastructure at Telenor, said: “We have great ambitions for Skygard and the timing is highly appropriate: the current geopolitical situation increases the need for secure solutions, whilst we simultaneously see an increasingly pressured market when it comes to capacity.”
