Kazakhstan Signs Deal for Giant Data Hub, But Power Shortage Could Delay Plans

Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development has agreed with an international consortium to build a large-scale government data center, but the timeline now looks tied to whether the country can plug a mounting electricity gap. The memorandum with a group led by JMOT04 Ltd. calls for a top-availability, Class 4 data facility and a companion gas-fired power station intended to guarantee steady supply for the computing complex.

Under the accord, the data center is budgeted at as much as $1.5 billion. The accompanying thermal plant is sized at about 250 megawatts of annual output and is estimated to cost more than $400 million. The government has appointed Ample Solution Ltd. to manage construction, though officials have not released a schedule or clarified how the projects will be financed.

Officials say the build fits into President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s wider effort to move the economy toward advanced digital services. The ministry emphasized Kazakhstan’s favorable siting and relatively low electricity rates as selling points, while JMOT04 — a London-based developer founded in 2021 and led by Ivor O’Toole — bills itself as a coordinator of major data center and technology campus projects. Authorities are prioritizing sites close to existing gas networks, and observers expect the northern Pavlodar region to be a prime candidate. Water demand for cooling, meanwhile, raises another constraint in a part of the world where supplies are under stress.

Power availability remains the key obstacle. Government forecasts indicate the shortfall could be closed by 2027, and Energy Minister Sungat Yessimkhanov has said that if all planned generation assets come online by then, Kazakhstan could stop importing electricity from Russia early in 2027. The country began 2026 with roughly 26.8 gigawatts of installed capacity and officials aim to roughly double that amount over the next ten years. But planned additions have already seen setbacks, and delays could push back both the grid upgrades and any major new data center.

Recent procurement changes illustrate the risks. Astana canceled contracts with a Russian contractor for plant construction and reassigned many projects to Chinese firms, citing problems that officials linked to financing and delivery. Separately, Russia’s Rosatom has struggled to secure funding for the first planned nuclear unit on Lake Balkhash, complicating longer-term supply plans.

Local energy analysts warn that the data hub’s fate will hinge not just on kilowatts but on financing, regional politics and water availability. “If the grid expansion slips, the server farm can’t open on time,” said an analyst in Almaty, who noted that building a dedicated gas-fired station would help but also ties the project to volatile fuel and capital markets. For now, the agreement signals big ambitions — but turning that promise into an operational facility will depend on a string of infrastructure and financial milestones.