Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır, former Vice President and AK Party Deputy Fuat Oktay, AK Party Deputy Chairman Ömer İleri, Rönesans Holding Honorary President Dr. attended the groundbreaking ceremony held for the data center campus in Ankara Temelli. Erman Ilıcak and Digital Realty EMEA Region President Paula Cogan and Ankara Başkent Organized Industrial Zone Chairman Şadi Türk as well as representatives from the business world and technology sector attended.
In the first phase of the investment, it is planned to create an IT capacity of over 22 MW and an operator-independent data center area of approximately 10 thousand square meters. After Ankara, it is aimed to develop a new data center campus in Istanbul.
GLOBAL EXPERIENCE FOR TURKEY'S DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE
The data center campuses planned to be developed in Ankara and Istanbul in partnership with Rönesans and Digital Realty aim to create a digital infrastructure platform with high capacity and international standards in Turkey.
This collaboration aims to create an infrastructure that can serve companies and public institutions in Turkey, as well as offer new capacity to international cloud providers, technology companies and digital service providers.
“WE WILL BE IN THE TOP 5 IN EUROPE”
At the groundbreaking ceremony, Rönesans Holding Honorary President Dr. reminded the past of the Turkish economy and mirrored its present. Erman Ilıcak emphasized that the priority today is data security. Stating that public authorities have paved the way for the construction of a data center in Turkey in this context, Ilıcak said, "They thought that Türkiye, which is the third largest electricity producing country in Europe, would host all data centers very well in this regard and they paved the way for us. Not only us, but many of our companies will invest in Türkiye in data centers and we will make Türkiye the fifth largest data center base in Europe after France, Germany, England and the Netherlands."
DOUBLED THE TARGET
Erman Ilıcak continued his words as follows: "Our total investment amount for Temelli Data Center, for which we held the groundbreaking ceremony today, will reach 4.1 billion dollars. We will realize this entire investment, hopefully, within 3 years. In addition to the center in Ankara, we will also build a data center in Deliklikaya in Istanbul. Hopefully, we will hold a groundbreaking ceremony there in February. A total investment of 5 billion dollars has been realized in Deliklikaya, including 1.7 billion dollars by us and 3.3 billion dollars by our tenants." "We will have made a total investment of 10 billion dollars."
Stating that with these investments, Turkey will become a producer country rather than a consumer in the data center market, Ilıcak said: "Our Minister set the target of 1000 MW, I would like to express that I can target 2000 MW, considering Turkey's power. We, as Rönesans Holding, will do 30 percent of this alone."
“WE BELIEVE IN TURKEY'S DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE POTENTIAL”
Digital Realty EMEA Region President Paula Cogan pointed out Turkey's growth potential in the field of digital infrastructure and the importance of the strategic partnership with Rönesans and said:
"This groundbreaking ceremony is an indication of Digital Realty's long-term commitment to support Turkey's digital transformation and contribute to the development of its digital infrastructure. Located at the intersection of Europe, Asia and the Middle East, Turkey has the potential to play an increasingly important role in the regional digital economy with its strategic location. Thanks to our cooperation with Rönesans, we combine Digital Realty's global platform and operational expertise with strong local competencies. We are developing a digital infrastructure that is secure, durable and has high connection capacity, in line with international standards." "In addition to meeting the changing needs of Turkish organizations and international technology providers, the Temelli campus will also contribute to Turkey's investment environment, innovation capacity and long-term growth of its digital ecosystem."
“WE WILL CARRY TURKEY AMONG THE LEADING COUNTRIES”
Touching on the importance of data centers, Minister of Industry and Technology Fatih Mehmet Kacır emphasized that data center investments constitute more than 1/5 of the total value of new international investment projects announced worldwide in 2025.
Stating that the importance of access to energy and raw materials in the industrial revolution in the 21st century is equal to the importance of having data today and converting it into economic value by processing it, Kacır said, “Research shows that the total installed power capacity of data centers around the world will reach 200 gigawatts in 5 years, from approximately 103 gigawatts in 2025. This table shows that the competition in the global technology race is not limited to only developing new technologies, but also the computing capacity that will bring these technologies to life.” "Countries that can safely protect, process and manage their own data and support high computing capacity with reliable, sustainable and energy-efficient data centers will transform the blessings of the digital age into prosperity and ensure and pursue their technological independence," he said.
Stating that a brand new page has been opened in Türkiye's technology development and production journey with the National Technology Move carried out under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Kacır said, "We know that digital sovereignty is an integral part of our national independence. We can turn the security of our data, the continuity of our critical digital systems and our vision of carrying Türkiye among the leading countries in artificial intelligence into reality with a data center infrastructure worthy of the Turkish century. In this direction, the Rönesans Digital Reality Data Center investment, which we have laid the foundation for today, is an important part of our country's digital transformation." "It is a very important step towards strengthening our independence, developing our strategic technology infrastructure and having a greater share in the global digital economy. New opportunities will be offered here for international cloud and digital service providers to expand their activities in our country. Another prominent aspect of the facility is its architecture based on energy efficiency."
Former Vice President and Ankara Deputy Fuat Oktay, who spoke at the opening ceremony, said: "I wholeheartedly congratulate Rönesans Holding and Digital Realty for these investments. We, both as the Foreign Affairs Commission and as Ankara Members of Parliament, are with you to the end, whatever we can."
