Interxion opens MRS2, its second data centre in Marseille

Less than four years after acquiring its first data centre in Marseille, Interxion is continuing to expand its presence in the southern French city. Located at the Port of Marseille Fos, MRS2 will meet the growing demand from international connectivity and content providers, and cloud platforms wanting to use Marseille as a hub to deliver their services and applications to Europe and further afield to Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

MRS2 is being built in three phases which will offer customers 4,400 sqm of equippable space with over 7MW of available power. The new phase, which is now completed, consists of 700 sqm of equipable space, while the second will offer 1,900 sqm from the second quarter of 2019. The capital expenditure associated with the construction of MRS2 as a whole is expected to be approximately ˆ76 million.

Together with MRS1, the new data centre allows a campus configuration, giving customers diversity of routes to ensure the resilience of their networks, as well as capacity for further expansion.

MRS2 also means the refurbishment of some installations at Marseille Fos Port which were historically linked to port activity. The data centre is based in former naval workshops, Freyssinet-style buildings which have been unoccupied since the 1990’s. Construction of MRS2 is managed by Cap Ingelec in a consortium with Cari, a subsidiary of Fayat Group.

Marseille has become the Mediterranean capital for telecoms, cloud and digital exchanges. Its geographical position as the landing point for 13 submarine telecommunications cables is a significant advantage. These cables, including some that are more than 20,000 km long, connect Marseille to dozens of countries as far as Singapore and China. The city is therefore a crossroads of connectivity between southern Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East, and has become a strategic global hub for data exchange. This trend is still ongoing with the arrival of new submarine cable increasing the available network capacity in Marseille

“Opening MRS2 is an important second step for Interxion in developing Marseille as a digital hub,” said David Ruberg, Interxion CEO. “This investment in the heart of the Mediterranean will help us to respond to the growing demand of our customers who wish to expand to Marseille to develop their activity in Europe and to reach emerging markets in Africa, the Middle East and Asia.”

For Fabrice Coquio, Managing Director of Interxion France, “MRS2 is the continuation of what we started with MRS1 when Interxion acquired the facility in 2014. I am proud and honoured today to open this new data centre, which is particularly notable due to its position within the grounds of Marseille Fos Port, forming, together with MRS1, the Interxion’s Marseille Campus. The number of telecom providers in Marseille is growing with the arrival of cloud and digital media platforms, confirming Marseille not only as a connectivity hub but as a content hub.”

Jean-Claude Gaudin, President of the Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis, Mayor of Marseille, Honorary Vice-president of the French Senate added: “We are particularly proud to attend the inauguration of Interxion’s MRS2 data centre, an addition to the several assets the Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis has in the digital field. These vast centres of IT servers that store and process data for companies support the digital transformation of our territory. Located in the Port of Marseille Fos, this new site has a role to play in supporting the development of Marseille as a global hub for telecom, cloud and digital exchanges. It reflects the willingness of the Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis to place the digital sector at the very heart of its development and attractiveness strategy.”

Mounir Mahjoubi, French Minister of State for Digital Affairs, attached to the Prime Minister commented,“The opening of this second Interxion data centre in Marseille is a prime example of the Aix-Marseille region’s attractiveness for companies investing in forward-looking sectors. This infrastructure will contribute to reinforcing Marseille’s as a growing digital hub, where new uses of the Internet represent a true opportunity for France. Our country has many assets that can be leveraged by the digital sector, has very fine startups and companies, and already attracts a number of foreign investments. I am pleased in the expansion of this industry in Marseille and the Bouches-du-Rh?ne department, it is a true driver of economic growth and long-term job creation.”