Digital Realty Forms Joint Venture with Ronesans Infrastructure to Enter Turkish Data Center Market

Digital Realty, the Austin, Texas-based data center operator listed on the New York Stock Exchange, has announced the formation of a strategic joint venture with Rönesans Infrastructure to develop and operate data centers across Turkiye, marking the company's first entry into the Turkish market.

A New Partnership at a Regional Crossroads

The joint venture pairs Digital Realty, which describes itself as the world's largest cloud- and carrier-neutral data center platform, with Rönesans Infrastructure, one of the largest investment companies in Turkiye and a top 50 international contractor on the ENR International Contractors List.

The partnership was announced on September 14, 2026, and is structured to extend Digital Realty's PlatformDIGITAL into the Turkish market. According to the companies, Turkiye's geographic position at the crossroads of Europe, the Middle East, and Asia makes it a critical hub for international internet traffic, data flows, and regional connectivity.

Combined with a large population and a rapidly growing digital economy, the companies stated that Turkiye represents a compelling growth opportunity for global cloud providers, enterprises, network operators, and content platforms.

Digital Realty's Chief Investment Officer Greg Wright said the partnership combines Rönesans' development capabilities and local expertise with Digital Realty's global platform, customer relationships, and operational experience. He described Turkiye as "one of the most compelling emerging digital infrastructure market opportunities in the region."

First Campus to Rise in Ankara

The joint venture's first investment will be a data center campus in Ankara, the Turkish capital. The facility is designed to support more than 22 megawatts of carrier-neutral IT capacity, intended to serve cloud, enterprise, and connectivity infrastructure customers. The companies stated that land, power, and permitting have already been secured for the Ankara site, and that early construction work has commenced. The first facility is scheduled for completion in 2028. According to the announcement, the Ankara campus is designed to establish one of Türkiye's leading digital infrastructure hubs, with the stated aim of supporting national enterprises, public sector organizations, and digital service providers, while bringing content and applications closer to Turkish end users.

Istanbul Expansion in the Pipeline

Beyond Ankara, the joint venture has announced plans to expand into Istanbul, Turkiye's largest commercial, financial, and connectivity hub. The companies intend to develop an additional data center in the city, though no timeline or capacity details for the Istanbul facility were disclosed in the announcement.

Together, the Ankara and Istanbul facilities are expected to create what the companies described as a highly connected and resilient digital infrastructure platform capable of serving both domestic and international customers. Digital Realty stated the two-city strategy is designed to support the continued digital transformation of Turkiye's economy.

Strategic Fit Within Digital Realty's EMEA Ambitions

Paula Cogan, Managing Director for EMEA at Digital Realty, framed the Turkiye entry as a key milestone in the company's broader European, Middle Eastern, and African growth strategy. She said the expansion complements Digital Realty's growing presence across Southern Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean, and is intended to strengthen connectivity across its regional platform. Cogan added that the move into Turkiye is designed to provide customers with greater flexibility, resilience, and reach as they scale their digital infrastructure globally.

Digital Realty currently operates more than 300 facilities in over 55 metros across more than 30 countries on six continents, according to the company's own description. The announcement positions Turkiye as an increasingly important hub for digital transformation, cloud adoption, and artificial intelligence innovation within the EMEA region.

Rönesans Brings Decade of Large-Scale Investment Experience

Rönesans Infrastructure is a subsidiary of Rönesans Holding, a Turkish conglomerate with a broad international track record. Dr. Erman Ilicak, President Emeritus of Rönesans Holding, stated that the group has delivered more than USD 10 billion of private sector investment in Turkiye, consistently focusing on sectors he described as critical to the country's long-term competitiveness. Ilicak cited existing relationships with international partners including IFC, TotalEnergies, Meridiam, GIC, Samsung, and Sojitz as evidence of Rönesans' capacity to sustain high-profile global partnerships.

He said the group aims, through the new joint venture, to enhance Turkiye's digital infrastructure and support its ambitions as a regional technology hub. Rönesans Infrastructure is described in the announcement as an international infrastructure investment, development, and operating platform, and holds its place among the top 50 international contractors as ranked by the ENR International Contractors List.

Demand Drivers Cited Across Cloud and AI Sectors

Both companies pointed to rising demand across cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and enterprise digital infrastructure as the primary commercial drivers behind the joint venture. The announcement specifically highlighted Turkiye's role in international internet traffic routing and its position as a connectivity corridor linking Europe, the Middle East, and Asia as factors that reinforce the country's strategic value for data center investment. Digital Realty's PlatformDIGITAL, which the company markets as a global data center platform built around its Pervasive Datacenter Architecture methodology, will underpin the technical framework of the new Turkish facilities. The platform is designed to support cloud and digital transformation workloads, as well as emerging technologies including artificial intelligence.