Akashi Data Center and the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) have signed a memorandum to finance the first module of the Astana data center, currently under construction, with $90M. For the project, this is independent confirmation that it meets the requirements of one of the region’s largest development institutions.

What stands behind the decision

The bank’s decision rests not on presentations or renders. Before reaching the memorandum, the project passed a full cycle of checks:

  • technical audits and engineering reviews;
  • financial analysis and commercial-model assessment;
  • power-supply evaluation;
  • market-demand confirmation;
  • dozens of other due-diligence procedures.

At this level you cannot simply make a deal — you have to prove the project is resilient, in demand, and deliverable.

Confirmed demand

One of the key factors was confirmed demand. Akashi’s first module is already 125% overbooked, with more than 80% of demand coming from large international companies.

“For me, this is one of the key markers that computing infrastructure is becoming just as strategic an asset as roads, energy or transport,” says Vladislav Minkevich, CEO of Akashi Data Center.

The global context

Over the past two years, development institutions have only begun investing in data centers. The IFC backed a project in Malaysia, the ADB financed a data center in Thailand for the first time in its history, and the EBRD supported projects in Jordan and Uzbekistan. Now the EDB has joined this global trend.

Notably, Kazakhstan is not catching up to the trend — it is becoming part of it almost simultaneously with other regions of the world. Akashi shows that the country is capable of building world-class infrastructure for artificial intelligence and the digital economy.

What comes next

There is still a great deal of work ahead: the project must pass the credit committee, complete legal procedures, and build and launch the first module. The memorandum is an important milestone, but not the finish line — it confirms that the project has reached a level where international development institutions are ready to finance it.

Akashi Data Center is being built to the Tier IV class and will become the first certified facility of this level in Central Asia. Its design capacity is up to 100 MW and 4,200 racks, commissioned in phases.