U.S. tech agency CloudHQ will make investments an estimated US $4.8 billion to construct six information facilities and complementary infrastructure on a single web site in Querétaro, an organization govt mentioned Thursday.
Keith Harney, CloudHQ’s chief working officer, introduced the funding at President Claudia Sheinbaum’s Thursday morning press convention.
“Our web site in Querétaro is 52 hectares and we will likely be constructing six information facilities, more than likely for cloud compute and AI and will probably be as much as 900 megawatts of important IT load,” he mentioned.
The project was first announced in 2023, at which era CloudHQ mentioned that the funding could be $3.6 billion.
The information middle campus is “in shut proximity to Querétaro Airport and would be the greatest information middle campus in Mexico designed to accommodate 6 buildings of 48MW of IT load powered by an onsite substation,” according to the CloudHQ website.
Querétaro Airport is positioned about 25 kilometers east of Querétaro metropolis.
Harney described the undertaking as a “hyper-scale information middle campus in Querétaro,” a state that has turn out to be a knowledge middle hub due to factors together with its central location in Mexico and a growing electricity supply.
He mentioned that it’s anticipated that building of the info facilities will create “7,200 highly-skilled building jobs.”
The campus — which can have its personal 900-megawatt substation — is predicted to be accomplished in 2027. As soon as operational it ought to present 900 everlasting jobs, and create off-campus jobs as nicely, in line with the CloudHQ govt.
Harney mentioned that CloudHQ “is respectful of sustainable design” and highlighted that the info facilities will likely be outfitted with “waterless cooling” infrastructure. Economic system Minister Marcelo Ebrard mentioned that campus’s water utilization will likely be “very low.”
Nevertheless, there are concerns about the impact data centers will have on water supply in Querétaro, which, like many states in Mexico, has confronted important water stress in recent times.
Google and Microsoft are among the many firms that have already got information facilities within the Bajío area state.
Harney famous that CloudHQ is “one of the largest data center developers in the world” and leases the services it builds to “the world’s largest technological firms.”
The businesses that lease the info facilities make their very own important investments within the services, he mentioned.
“The capital funding I shared with you is our price. We lease our house to our prospects. Our prospects will make a capital funding into the property to make it prepared for his or her enterprise,” Harney mentioned.
“Usually that funding may very well be three to 5 instances the price of our constructing, and that will be for a cloud compute and if that was AI it will be considerably greater. In order you may see, [there will be] important capital funding,” he mentioned.
“… Our prospects finally decide what they may use the house for however we’re extremely assured that this house will likely be used for cloud compute and AI, so synthetic intelligence,” Harney mentioned.
“… We’re happy to be enjoying a supporting position in enhancing the digital financial system for Mexico,” he added.
Sheinbaum mentioned that funding in information facilities is “necessary for Mexico,” explaining that it provides the nation “the capability to course of information associated to synthetic intelligence and data expertise.”
“We additionally want these investments to deliver advantages for the group,” she mentioned.
Ebrard highlighted that “virtually all of the companies in our every day lives will likely be linked to those sorts of knowledge facilities.”
“… That’s why [the investment] is essential — due to its quantity, the variety of jobs [it will create] and the impact it’ll have,” he mentioned.
CloudHQ’s information middle campus intimately
Harney offered a variety of different particulars about CloudHQ’s undertaking in Querétaro. He mentioned that:
- CloudHQ has collaborated with authorities in Querétaro on “the land and pre-development course of” since 2021.
- Cloud HQ has additionally collaborated with the Federal Electrical energy Fee and the Nationwide Power Management Middle to “safe preliminary energy” for the corporate’s campus and “will proceed to collaborate as we upsize capability.”
- Cloud HQ will “search to safe a long-term anchor tenant” for the info middle campus.
- CloudHQ is constructing a separate “2-gigawatt maneuvering substation” to supply energy to the info facilities.
- CloudHQ will depend on “the Mexican provide chain as a lot as we are able to” whereas constructing the info facilities.
- The campus web site is “simply west” of the Querétaro Airport.
With stories from El Economista and Reuters
