Brazil’s Um Telecom has secured funding from the country’s national bank for a data center in Recife.

The National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) this week announced it had approved financing worth R$41 million ($7.6 million) for Um Telecom to implement the first Tier III data center in the State of Pernambuco.

To be located in Recife, the facility will offer more than 150 racks. DCD Brazil reports the facility should be live by the end of 2025 and offer 1MW of capacity.

The financing was approved within the scope of BNDES Funttel (Fund for the Technological Development of Telecommunications), in the innovation support line.

BNDES president, Aloizio Mercadante, said: “Combined with the use of renewable energy and the export of technological services, it could be a way of accelerating the region’s productive sophistication. BNDES is aware of this regional opportunity for the northeastern company Um Telecom, which will operate partly with solar energy, and will sell services to companies in different segments, including large global technology companies”

Founded in 2010, Um Telecom is headquartered in Recife and has more than 16,000km of optical fiber installed throughout the Northeast region. The company announced plans to develop a solar park to power its operations in 2022.

The company first announced plans for a data center in Recife in September 2022. At the time, the company said it planned to develop a 13,000 sqm (140,000 sq ft) facility in the Technological Park of Electronics and Associated Technologies of Pernambuco (Parqtel). The second and third phases will add 300 racks and 2MW each.