Municipal authorities in Cape Town have approved Equinix’s proposal to develop two data centres in the city, despite objections from activist groups over the project’s water use, electricity demand and environmental impact. The decision marks a significant step forward for the US-listed company and its planned development in the King Air Industria area, as demand for data centre infrastructure rises across Africa. The planned facilities are expected to require about 170MW of power capacity, making the project one of the largest proposed data centre developments in South Africa. ‘Fully transparent’An Equinix spokesman confirmed the company had purchased land in Cape Town but had not yet submitted a site development plan. Under South Africa’s planning system, a site development plan sets out how an approved project will be laid out and operated.