Scala opens US$1.1bn expansion of São Paulo datacenter campus

Brazil's Scala Data Centers has officially opened the second phase of its Tamboré datacenter campus in Barueri, in the metropolitan region of São Paulo, with 6.2bn reais (US$1.1bn) in investments.

The campus is deemed one of the largest datacenter projects in Latin America and one of the biggest infrastructure projects currently underway in São Paulo state.

The company held an event at the complex on Wednesday to mark the expansion of the campus, with the presence of São Paulo governor Tarcísio de Freitas.

The expansion will add six more vertical datacenters to the complex, where total investments after all stages could reach 32bn reais (US$5.85bn). Phase 1 of the project demanded 6.5bn reais in capex. 

Following the conclusion of the second phase, two more phases are planned.

Of the six buildings planned for phase 2, two have already been completed and are in operation and occupied by customers. 

Among the clients with whom Scala has signed up for the first phases of the campus are a Brazilian telecom operator and US and Chinese cloud providers, Scala CEO Marcos Peigo told BNamericas in March.

The four remaining buildings are expected to open by the first quarter of 2025.

As previously reported, a 560MW power substation is under development to supply the next phases of the project's expansion.

The substation, which will enable monthly energy consumption greater than that of all Nicaragua, exceeds US$80mn in investments.

By the end of the fourth and final phase, in 2026 or 2027, the Tamboré campus is expected to have 17 vertical and storied datacenters and become one of the largest such complexes in Latin America, with around 450MW of IT capacity and 600MW in total power.

To finance part of the project, the company, which is controlled by US fund DigitalBridge, announced plans to raise a further 1.5bn reais in debentures. It will be Scala’s third debenture issuance since 2022.