The Kazakhstan government said on Thursday that construction of the Data Center Valley project in Ekibastuz is progressing smoothly with the first 50 MW facility on track for commissioning by June 2027.
As reported by the Kazakhstan state news agency, Kazinform, excavation work for the energy centers and AI factories at the site are 90 percent complete. The foundation work for the energy centers and construction of the administrative and utility buildings is also underway.
“Data Center Valley is shaping Kazakhstan’s new export potential. By placing computing power inside the country, we are creating conditions for the growth of domestic AI solutions, attracting global companies, and positioning Kazakhstan on the international digital services market,” said Zhaslan Madiyev, Kazakhstan Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development.
Data Center Valley will scale in phases to a total capacity of 1 GW, supporting AI factories, GPU clusters and cloud platforms from international hyperscalers. A 215 MW substation has been secured to power the site, with water supply networks being designed and plans for telecommunications infrastructure being drawn up.
Earlier this year the Prime Minister’s office reported that a key aspect of the Data Center Valley was a greenfield zone meant to attract international partners. The zone will offer 100 MW of capacity with room to scale. Importantly, the infrastructure will comply with the international Tier III standards.
In June the government and Kazakhtelecom signed AI and digital infrastructure cooperation agreements with Firebird worth a total of US$ 10 billion. The Kazakhstan government has framed the agreements as the foundation for the project’s next phase and as evidence of the country’s appeal for AI infrastructure investment.
“The planned US$ 10 billion investment will enable Kazakhstan to establish a large-scale computing cluster powered by 100,000 state-of-the-art GPU chips, including NVIDIA GB300 and Vera Rubin. According to our estimates, the project will generate at least US$ 3 billion in annual export revenue, create new high-skilled jobs, attract leading global technology companies, and further strengthen Kazakhstan’s position as one of Eurasia’s key digital hubs,” Madiyev said.
Kazakhstan is considered a prime location for data center development in Central Asia according to Arizton Advisory & Intelligence. Its cheap power, which drew crypto-mining operations in the past, could likewise attract data center developers and operators. As w.media reported in June, Kazakhstan’s advantages in geopolitics, energy resources, and foreign investment policies has attracted the attention of Singapore’s SuperX AI Technology which is in talks with Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov to build a 1 GW AI computing park in the country.