Microsoft's plan to build a data center in East Africa is delayed. This is because of money disagreements with the Kenyan government. Microsoft wanted a payment guarantee. Bloomberg reported this on Sunday, citing sources.
Microsoft partnered with G42, an AI company from the UAE, in 2024. They planned to invest \$1 billion in a Kenya data center. This was part of expanding Microsoft's cloud computing in East Africa.
The project was announced during a visit by Kenya's President to Washington. This happened during former President Biden's term, Reuters reported.
The data center was planned to use geothermal power. It would offer access to Microsoft's Azure cloud platform. Azure is Microsoft's cloud service.
Microsoft and G42 asked Kenya's government to pay a set amount each year. This was for a specific amount of capacity. Talks failed when the government could not give the payment guarantees Microsoft wanted.
Bloomberg reported that Microsoft might reduce the project size. The company could also decide not to proceed.
Kenya's government is still talking. John Tanui, a Kenyan principal secretary for information, said the project is not canceled. He spoke in an interview.
Tanui also said the size of the data center needs changes. He noted that power needs are still being discussed. The project aims to bring advanced cloud services to the region.