Illustration: AI
Three data centers with a combined capacity of 304 MW are scheduled to open in Pavlodar Region in 2027. Construction progress at Data Center Valley was discussed at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov. According to a KPMG estimate cited at the meeting, the project could generate up to $3.1 billion in annual export revenue (t.me).
What happened
Kazakhtelecom Chairman Bagdat Mussin said foundation work is already underway at the site of the first center, which will have a capacity of 68 MW. Infrastructure facilities and an administrative building are also under construction. The center is scheduled to open in the second quarter of 2027, from April to June.
A second data center, Firebird AI, with a capacity of 164 MW, is being built in parallel. Excavation is 70% complete. Construction is scheduled to finish and the center to open in the third quarter of 2027, from July to September.
How Data Center Valley will expand
The third center, with a capacity of 72 MW, is scheduled to begin operating in the fourth quarter of 2027, from October to December. Together, the three sites will make up the project’s first phase. Data centers are facilities that process data.
Preliminary agreements have been signed with Gaw Capital, Boosteroid and Firebird for the second phase. They provide for hosting 480 MW of computing capacity, with the option to expand to 620 MW. These agreements remain preliminary.
Talks are also underway with Aleria, Energy Capital Global and China Energy on an additional 240 MW, potentially increasing to 420 MW. Plans call for Data Center Valley’s total capacity to reach 1 GW, or 1,000 MW, by 2029.
What this means
The project is linked to growth in Kazakhstan’s exports. The estimate of $3.1 billion in potential annual revenue is a forecast, rather than income already earned. Investment over the centers’ 20-year operating life could total $115 billion.
The campus expansion includes the construction of energy infrastructure. Electricity supply and utility connections for the sites were discussed separately at the meeting. This task is part of the broader issue of power supply for data centers in Kazakhstan.
Following the meeting, Bektenov instructed the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development to work with Kazakhtelecom to ensure the centers open on schedule. The nearest announced deadline is the second quarter of 2027, when the first data center is due to begin operating.
