CRA begins construction of Prague Gateway DC – the largest data centre in the region
CRA has obtained a building permit to construct a data centre on the outskirts of Prague, in the Zbraslav – Jíloviště area. Called Prague Gateway DC, it will be one of the largest and most modern data centres in the region. Construction will begin this summer, with the first clients expected to be able to use the new data centre by the end of 2027.
‘The demand for data centre capacity is constantly growing. Companies need higher power consumption, the highest possible security, and the most sustainable operation possible. At Prague Gateway DC, we have combined these seemingly incompatible requirements, and construction has just begun,’ says CRA CEO Miloš Mastník.
CRA is building the new data centre on its own land, which was previously used to operate AM radio transmitters. Prague Gateway DC will be one of the largest and most modern data centres in Central and Eastern Europe. It will have a total capacity of more than 2,000 racks in twelve data halls with a total floor area of over 4,000 m2. The data centre will have a power supply of 26MW. Construction will take place in several stages.
Construction is now underway on the first building, which will have a capacity of nearly 700 racks and will serve Czech and foreign clients with high power requirements and high operating standards, such as for providing international services with high availability or for training language AI models.
‘There has been a lot of talk lately about the computing power requirements of artificial intelligence. We are already prepared. We are starting to build and can offer interested parties realistic deadlines and parameters for training AI models,’ explains Miloš Mastník.
Subsequent phases could see the Prague Gateway DC data centre become part of the AI Gigafactory project. This will consist of large-scale facilities designed to provide capacity and participate in the development and training of complex AI models. These facilities will integrate massive computing power. CRA submitted the project as part of the Project AIGF CZ initiative and, if successful, will function as the project coordinator.
‘However, Prague Gateway DC is being developed regardless of its involvement in the AI Gigafactory project and will be available to commercial customers in approximately two years,’ adds Miloš Mastník.
CRA already operates eight data centres in the Czech Republic, including sites in Prague's Žižkov, Strahov, and nearby Cukrák, as well as in Brno, Ostrava, Pardubice, Zlín, and Lužice. As interest in leasing capacity continues to grow, which is why CRA opened a new data hall at the Cukrák transmitter last spring and is now expanding the capacity of the DC Tower in Žižkov.
CRA is successfully attracting interesting clients, including an increasing number of foreign ones, to its data centres. Recently, CRA began cooperating with Boosteroid, the world's largest independent gaming cloud platform, and an agreement has now been reached to further expand this cooperation.