MPT installs data centre for Tigo in Tanzania
Master Power Technologies (MPT) has been selected to design, manufacture and install a new data centre for Tigo Telecommunications in Tanzania. The task included project managing the whole process and managing the building of a new structure for the data centre.
Tigo went to tender for the design, construction and implementation of a number of new data centres in the countries it operates in which include Rwanda, Senegal and Chad.
MPT won the tender for Tanzania as it offered an independent, self-sufficient data centre made up of different modules, housed in containers. The solution is completely self-sufficient in terms of power management and does not require a connection to the national electricity grid to operate at full capacity.
Rory Reid, sales and marketing manager at Master Power Technologies says the project required a 5-module data centre, with a sixth module for backup power. The data centre modules were built in 250 m2 containers, while the power component required a 50 m2 container. These were designed and built at MPT’s head office in Gauteng, tested and then disassembled and shipped to Tanzania. The equipment MPT supplied for the project included:
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1 000 Amp low-voltage panels with MPT’s Universal Controller (UC) for remote monitoring,
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An 800 KVA transformer,
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An 800 KVA auto voltage regulator,
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Two 200 KW UPS systems with FIAMM batteries,
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Two 2 400 KVA rectifiers (in the initial phase),
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Two 700 KVA FG Wilson generators, and
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One 28 000 litre diesel fuel tank.
Six Emerson 80 KW cooling units were also built into the containers, which also included 30 cold aisle racks for the company’s ICT requirements. All containers also include a full security solution, which incorporates fire detection and suppression, intrusion alarms and surveillance cameras.
MPT’s UC was designed to efficiently and cost effectively provide control and monitoring in the power solutions market. It replaces traditional SCADA and PLCs in the monitoring and control environment. The UC can be used for a wide variety of functions including battery management, building management, generator control, UPS control, PDU monitoring etc.
The new data centre will support Tigo’s network expansion in the region, and will provide additional resources for the company’s other ICT requirements. Spare data centre capacity can also be rented out to other companies. The success of the project has convinced Tigo to consider implementing another phase of the project which will see a further five modules added to the data centre.
