The Competition Commission of South Africa recommended that the Competition Tribunal approve Teraco Properties’ proposed purchase of land in Brackenfell
On 20 October 2026 the Competition Commission of South Africa (CCSA) recommended that the Competition Tribunal approve, without conditions, the proposed acquisition of vacant industrial land in Brackenfell, City of Cape Town, by Teraco Properties (Pty) Ltd. The land is zoned for general industrial use and has no buildings apart from a substation that supplies electricity.
The Commission determined that the transaction is ‘unlikely to substantially lessen or prevent competition in any market’ and does not raise significant public‑interest concerns. However, the Competition Tribunal of South Africa’s decision on the acquisition is still pending.
Teraco Properties is a subsidiary of Teraco Data Environments (Pty) Ltd, which operates data‑centre facilities in Cape Town, and is ultimately controlled by Digital Realty Trust Inc., a United‑States‑registered public company listed on the New York Stock Exchange and ‘not controlled by any single shareholder’, according to the Commission.
Teraco already owns two properties in the city that house its CT1 and CT2 data centres. CT1 is located in Rondebosch and has a capacity of 3 MW on 2 500 m². CT2 is located in Brackenfell, covers 18 000 m² and has an IT load of 50 MW. The vacant land that Teraco proposes to purchase is also in Brackenfell, adjacent to the CT2 facility. Public geographic information system data show the CT2 site directly beside the vacant parcel, which has an extent of 66 024.974 m² in the Morgan Industria area and is accessed via Tiber Road.
A Teraco spokesperson said the company is ‘awaiting final Competition Tribunal approval to proceed’ and that the plans are ‘contingent on many factors, with nothing concrete as yet’. The spokesperson added that Teraco will discuss its plans for the land with the City of Cape Town.
The Commission noted that the proposal does not raise significant public‑interest concerns, despite a separate controversy in Cape Town over a planned billion‑rand data‑centre at King Air Industria Park. In those circumstances, plans by the American firm Equinix to build that facility were stalled after a petition was launched by the Cape Town Housing Assembly, the South African Human Rights Commission and the UK non‑profit group Foxglove.
Why does it matter?
Data centres require massive electricity loads—such as Teraco’s nearby CT2 facility in Brackenfell operating at 50MW. Critics and observers have raised concerns about how heavy digital infrastructure loads interact with South Africa’s fragile national energy grid. The South African Competition Commission recommended unconditional approval for Teraco Properties’ acquisition of vacant industrial land having found that the deal is unlikely to substantially lessen or prevent competition in any market. However, while the Competition Commission stated the deal raised no significant public-interest concerns, other major data centre projects in Cape Town, such as Equinix’s planned facility at King Air Industria, have faced pushback from community groups. Despite receiving regulatory approvals, the building of data centers remains a controversial topic for several reasons.
