Veon Breaks Ground on Sovereign Cloud Data Center in Almaty, Kazakhstan
December 8, 2025
The push for data sovereignty and localized digital infrastructure is gaining momentum across Central Asia, as nations seek to retain control over critical data and foster domestic technology ecosystems. This strategic shift is attracting significant investment from regional telecom and digital service providers.
This week, international telecoms group Veon announced that construction has commenced on a new data center in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The project is being developed by the company's local subsidiaries, Beeline Kazakhstan and its cloud business unit, Hyper Cloud Solution. The facility, with a planned capacity of 2 megawatts (MW), is scheduled to become operational by the end of 2026.
The core objective of the project is to provide sovereign cloud and AI services to businesses within Kazakhstan, ensuring that data storage and processing remain within the country's borders. Rauan Kabdrahimov, CEO of Enterprise Co at Beeline Kazakhstan who is overseeing Hyper Cloud Solution's development, emphasized the facility's strategic importance. "Building our own data center is an important step for the development of Hyper Cloud," he stated. "This facility will allow for reliable storage and processing of data within the country and will lay the foundation for the development of modern digital services."
Evgeniy Nastradin, CEO of Beeline Kazakhstan, highlighted the project's role in advancing the nation's digital ambitions. "Through the new Hyper Cloud service facility, we will be delivering state-of-the-art infrastructure for the country’s enterprise and AI needs," Nastradin said. "This investment will enhance Kazakhstan’s potential as a digital hub for the region." The Hyper Cloud business was formed earlier this year in partnership with Chinese technology giant Huawei.
The development signals Veon's continued strategic focus on its key markets in Asia following its exit from the Russian market in October. The company, now headquartered in Dubai, maintains operations in countries including Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. For Kazakhstan, the project represents a concrete step towards building indigenous digital infrastructure, which could attract further international IT investment and support the growth of a local AI and cloud services industry.
Source: datacenterdynamics
