BAGHDAD — BNT

Iraq’s digital infrastructure landscape is set for a significant expansion as technology and connectivity investment group T964 develops a new commercial data center in Baghdad in partnership with energy technology company Schneider Electric.

T964 describes the facility as Iraq’s first commercial data center designed to meet Tier III requirements. Under the partnership, Schneider Electric will provide the project’s critical power and cooling infrastructure, supporting operational resilience, energy efficiency and long-term scalability.

The development comes as demand grows in Iraq for local hosting, cloud computing, secure digital infrastructure and reliable platforms capable of supporting financial services, telecommunications, government systems and artificial intelligence applications.

First phase to include 340 racks

According to information published by T964, the first phase will feature 340 racks deployed across flexible pods and cages, allowing different organizations to host their equipment within a professionally managed environment.

The facility’s capacity is expected to scale up to 12 MW as demand increases. The site will also have access to 84 MW of total on-site power capacity and multiple independent internet sources.

These capabilities are intended to support highly available operations and business continuity for mission-critical workloads, including banking platforms, telecommunications services, cloud applications and enterprise systems.

A carrier-neutral facility

The project is being developed as a carrier-neutral colocation data center, allowing customers to connect through multiple telecommunications and network providers instead of being restricted to a single carrier.

This model can provide financial institutions, government entities, technology companies and cloud service providers with greater connectivity options and reduce their dependence on a single network route.

It can also allow organizations to place their servers and digital equipment in specialized facilities without having to build and operate standalone data centers of their own.

Understanding the Tier III classification

Under the Uptime Institute framework, a Tier III data center is designed for concurrent maintainability. Planned maintenance can be conducted on critical infrastructure components without shutting down IT services, supported by redundant capacity components and distribution paths.

However, being designed to meet Tier III requirements does not automatically confirm that a facility has obtained formal Tier Certification. Certification generally requires an independent assessment covering the design, constructed facility or operational sustainability, depending on the certificate being pursued.

At the time of publication, BNT had not identified a public Uptime Institute announcement confirming that the T964 facility had received final Tier III certification. The description should therefore be understood as the project positioning and technical objective announced by its developers.

Supporting cloud and AI workloads

Once operational, the facility is expected to serve enterprises, financial institutions, telecommunications operators, cloud providers and technology companies managing sensitive or mission-critical digital workloads.

Cloud computing, artificial intelligence and advanced data-processing applications require dependable power, efficient cooling, high-capacity connectivity and operational systems designed to minimize disruption.

Greater local data center capacity may reduce latency for services hosted inside Iraq and give institutions additional options for keeping systems and data within the country, subject to applicable laws, regulations and organizational policies.

Schneider Electric’s role

T964 selected Schneider Electric to provide critical power and cooling technologies after evaluating international technology providers, according to the partnership announcement.

The infrastructure will be intended to support continuous operations, energy efficiency, system visibility and future capacity expansion.

Mohamed Samy, general manager for Iraq and Levant countries at Schneider Electric, said the partnership could establish a new benchmark for data center performance in Iraq and contribute to a stronger and more connected digital economy.

Ali El Akabi, founder and chief executive officer of T964, said the project aims to deliver advanced digital infrastructure capable of providing the resilience, efficiency and scalability required by customers operating critical workloads.

Expected launch

Construction and infrastructure work were reported to be underway, with the project targeting launch by the end of 2026.

The final launch schedule and capacity available on opening will remain subject to construction progress, technical testing and the completion of relevant regulatory and certification procedures.

Why the project matters for Iraq

Advanced commercial data centers can provide an important foundation for Iraq’s digital transformation, although one facility alone does not establish digital sovereignty.

A broader digital sovereignty framework also requires effective data-protection legislation, governance standards, national technical skills, cybersecurity controls, incident-response capabilities and business-continuity planning.

If delivered according to its announced specifications, the T964 project could expand Iraq’s local hosting and cloud services market, encourage organizations to move critical systems into professionally managed environments and improve the country’s ability to attract investment connected to the digital economy.