Czech telecoms firm České Radiokomunikace (CRA) is moving ahead with a large new data center outside Prague.

CRA first announced plans for a new data center near Zbraslav on the outskirts of Prague back in 2022.

Specifications weren't shared at the time but the company said the new data center would be ‘the largest in the country’ and be able to host up to 2,000 racks. The project was originally due live in late 2024.

However, it seems the project has been delayed and the company is only now beginning to ramp up to start construction in the near future.

CRA this month signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade around the development of the Zbraslav data center.

According to the MoU, the data center will be located on the land previously used for the dissemination of radio broadcasts from Prague-Zbraslav.

The government said the MoU highlights support for Cordiant Group's investment plan to build the facility, providing a "framework for future cooperation" to develop digital infrastructure, support R&D and innovation in technology, and increase capacity for digital transformation.

“The creation of a data center of this type will help strengthen the position of the Czech Republic as a technological leader and a key player in the field of digitization. The project will increase the security of our data and strengthen the Czech economy," said the Minister of Industry and Trade, Jozef Síkela.

More details about the planned specifications of the facility are now available. Sat on a 56,000 sqm (602,780 sq ft) plot, the two-story facility will offer 26MW across 2,500 racks. It will feature four meet-me rooms and two power feeds. It will aim to support up to 30kW per rack and offer its waste heat for reuse.

CRA said the plan is to have a building permit for the new facility in the spring of 2025, with construction lasting 24 months. The company said the project will see 2 billion crowns ($89 million) invested.

The company put out an RFP for a construction partner earlier this month.

CRA was founded in 1963 under the name Správa radiokomunikaci and privatized in the 1990s.

Cordiant Digital Infrastructure - a fund created by Cordiant Capital and listed on the London Stock Exchange - bought Ĉeské Radiokomunikace from Macquarie Asset Management in 2021 for an undisclosed price.

The company’s core data center, known as the DC Tower, operates under the Zizkov transmitter. The company has also repurposed smaller facilities in the Cukrák and Strahov areas of Prague as well as in Ostrava, Brno, Zlín, Ostrava, Lužice and Pardubice - all in the Czech Republic. The firm also has its own backbone fiber optic network.

Cordiant recently said that broadcasting services no longer account for the majority of CRA’s revenues amid a pivot to cloud and data center services. It also said that CRA has successfully negotiated large refinancing for its existing loans while increasing the overall limit - enabling it to obtain resources for the construction of the Zbraslav data center.