Türkiye on Wednesday laid the foundation for a new flagship data center that it says will strengthen the country's digital sovereignty, cybersecurity resilience and artificial intelligence infrastructure, as it seeks to expand domestic control over critical digital assets.
Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu described the facility of the state-owned satellite communications firm Türksat in the capital Ankara as "Türkiye's new digital fortress."
Uraloğlu stressed the center would ensure that critical data remain within the country's borders. "We are establishing sovereignty over our data on our own soil," he said. "This is not just a concrete structure, but Türkiye's new digital fortress."
The project forms part of Ankara's strategy to expand domestic digital infrastructure and reduce reliance on foreign technology providers amid growing geopolitical competition over data, artificial intelligence and cyber capabilities.
Uraloğlu said the facility would include six system halls, two high-performance computing rooms with 20 cabinets each, 6,300 square meters (67,800 square feet) of white space and office space for 200 employees.
