Monday, 24 August 2026
Skanska has secured a CZK 2.1 billion contract, equivalent to approximately SEK 930 million, to construct the Prague Gateway DC data centre for CRA Prague Gateway DC on the outskirts of the Czech capital. The contract will be included in Skanska’s European order intake for the third quarter of 2026.
The construction contract covers the building itself together with non-IT technologies. Initial works will include site infrastructure, foundations and the precast concrete structural frame. Skanska is starting work in August, with completion of its contract scheduled for 2028.
The project is considerably larger than the construction contract announcement alone suggests. Prague Gateway DC is being developed by České Radiokomunikace (CRA) in the Zbraslav-Jíloviště area, on land previously used for AM radio transmission infrastructure. CRA Prague Gateway DC, the company commissioning Skanska, is wholly owned by CRA.
When fully developed, the campus is planned to provide more than 2,000 server racks across 12 data halls, with more than 4,000 sqm of data-hall space and an electricity supply of 26 MW. Development is being undertaken in phases.
The first building is designed for almost 700 racks and is intended to accommodate both Czech and international customers requiring high computing capacity. CRA has identified artificial intelligence workloads, including the training of large AI models, among the applications the facility is being designed to support.
The investment comes as rising demand for cloud services, AI computing and high-performance GPU infrastructure changes the technical requirements of data centres. CRA said earlier this year that greater computing intensity is increasing requirements for power density, cooling, energy efficiency and the ability of facilities to accommodate future generations of hardware.
Prague Gateway DC could also eventually have a role in the proposed Czech AI Gigafactory initiative. CRA has previously submitted the facility as part of the country’s AI Gigafactory plans, although the company has stressed that development of the data centre is proceeding independently of whether that initiative goes ahead.
The latest information from CRA indicates that the first capacity is expected to become available at the beginning of 2028. Earlier project announcements had anticipated initial customers during 2027, indicating that the delivery timetable has subsequently moved.
The project forms part of a broader expansion of CRA’s data-centre operations. The company already operates facilities in Prague as well as Brno, Ostrava, Pardubice, Zlín and Lužice, and has been increasing capacity as demand for computing infrastructure grows.
Prague Gateway DC will substantially increase that platform while adding a new category of higher-capacity infrastructure capable of supporting increasingly power-intensive computing.
For the Czech commercial property and construction markets, the CZK 2.1 billion Skanska contract also illustrates the growing importance of data centres as a specialist development sector. Unlike conventional logistics or office buildings, a significant proportion of investment is directed towards power, cooling, resilience and other technical infrastructure rather than the building structure alone.
Construction is now moving into its next stage following preparatory work that began previously at the site. With the main Skanska programme running through 2028, Prague Gateway DC is set to become one of the Czech Republic’s largest additions of purpose-built digital infrastructure as demand for AI, cloud and high-performance computing capacity continues to increase.
