New Equinix data centre to be located at L’Hospitalet de Llobregat

Barcelona is positioned as a strategic hub for the connection of terrestrial and submarine telecommunications cables. The recently inaugurated Barcelona Cable Landing Station, located in Sant Adrià de Besòs, has accelerated the implementation of new data centres in the metropolitan area, which are vital for the digital transformation of companies and the economy.

Nasdaq-listed US company Equinix has announced the construction of a second data centre in L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, where it has already had a similar facility since 2017. The new project, called International Business Exchange BA2, will require an investment of 52 million euros and is expected to be operational in the first quarter of 2024.

The new data centre already has its first customer, the British multinational Colt Technology Services, which is also the first company to connect to the Barcelona Cable Landing Station.

Equinix has stated that this new facility in Barcelona will serve as a strategic connection point for data communications between Europe. Africa and the Middle East. The new facility will quickly become an essential submarine cable mooring location and will connect important cables such as 2Africa, Aqua Comms’ Europe-Middle East-India, Sipartech’s Medloop and Medusa, linking Barcelona to various Mediterranean, European and African markets.

Equinix vice-president Jim Poole highlighted the importance of submarine cables in enabling the digital world and foresees great progress in the next two years after the slowdown caused by the pandemic. Equinix noted that Barcelona continues to attract major international organisations in the technology area, mentioning companies such as Airbnb, Amazon, Google, HP, Microsoft and Ubisoft, which have invested in the city.