Data centre developers worldwide are shifting their focus to the construction of facilities capable of supporting AI workloads – but sector expects warn that the complex requirements of these new data centres may be outpacing supply chain preparedness.

According to Turner & Townsend’s 2025-2026 Data Centre Construction Cost Index, 2025 is an inflexion point for the sector as it moves from focusing on traditional, cloud-based, air-cooled data centres to the growing dominance of high-density, liquid-cooled facilities supporting AI workloads.

An analysis of the current cost per watt to build data centres in 52 markets worldwide shows cost inflation for traditional data centres worldwide averaging 5.5% in 2025. Turner & Townsend has also been able to identify a 7% to 10% construction cost premium between traditional and AI data centres in the USA by comparing projects of similar IT capacity – demonstrating the cost impacts of the more technically complex AI-supporting facilities.

Industry leaders surveyed highlight that it is the power and supply chain capacity required to deliver these AI data centres, rather than cost, that is concerning with 83% believing that local supply chains are not well prepared to support the increase adoption of advanced cooling techniques needed for these high-density centres. Meanwhile, 48% say power availability is the most prominent obstacle to delivering projects on schedule – a factor only becoming more significant with the ever-increasing power-density of AI data centres.

Innovation will also be required to develop and deliver more energy efficient designs and mitigate the risks of power connection delays.

Beyond the survey, the report’s cost index compares construction costs between African data centres with Lagos and Cape Town the two most expensive at US$10.50 and US$10.33 per watt, respectively. Johannesburg comes in third at US$10.06 per watt while Nairobi came in as the least expensive city in Africa at US$9.74 per watt.

Turner & Townsend says maturing supply chains and growing local expertise are helping to stabilise construction, particularly in newer markets.

Lagos, for instance, entered their 2024 index at seventh place globally, primarily due to the high costs of setting up new supply chains and expertise in the market which had not traditionally developed data centres or similar projects. In 2025, with these skills and supply chains now more embedded, costs have settled significantly, now sitting in 27^th place globally.