“Do We Need Them?”: Mzansi Questions Cape Town’s Approval of New Data Centres in TikTok Video
- Cape Town’s Municipal Planning Tribunal approved two massive data centres planned for the King Air Industria site near the airport
- Opposition groups warned the application left out key details on water use, electricity demand and diesel backup generators
- A TikTok video by Cool Story Bru asked if Mzansi truly needs the new data centres, given local water fears
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South Africans are questioning the two new data centres set to be built near the airport. The Municipal Planning Tribunal chose to move ahead with the huge project despite serious water and power concerns.
Cool Story Bru posted the clip on 15 July 2026 near Cape Town International Airport. The Municipal Planning Tribunal had just approved plans for two huge data centres.
Why the project raised red flags
According to a report by GroundUp, land owner King David Country Club applied to rezone three properties for the new development. The tribunal approved the change on a narrow four-to-one vote. American company Equinix plans to build the data centres on the site. Together, the buildings will cover an area the size of fourteen rugby fields.
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The application did not include any figures for water or electricity use. Objectors said this made it impossible to judge the true impact fairly. The Housing Assembly and Foxglove raised the objections with legal help from experts.
Legal Resource Centre attorney Kimal Harvey told the tribunal the numbers were troubling. Every megawatt used by a typical data centre needs millions of litres of water yearly. The two centres could need about four billion litres of water every year. That is enough electricity to power around 130,000 homes across the city.
Objectors reminded the tribunal that Cape Town had survived a severe Day Zero water crisis before. One tribunal member agreed and voted against the application over the missing details. But the majority said those numbers would come later in a separate site plan.
GroundUp also reported that Chair Sydney Holden said the project would boost Cape Town as a digital hub.
The Cool Story Bru clip drew strong reactions from worried local viewers. Some joked that cables would be stolen within days of construction starting. Others said Cape Town already struggles with water and cannot support a new strain. Several accused foreign companies of quietly taking control of local land and power.
The site development plan still needs separate approval before construction can begin.
See the reactions in the TikTok video below:
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Source: Briefly News
