Narayan AmmachchiThe government of Chile is joining forces with private enterprise to draw billions of dollars worth of foreign investment towards the country’s data center industry.
Chilean President Gabriel Boric outlined plans to build 28 data centers in Chile over the coming years.
The project will require an investment of US$2.6 billion. If it plays out succesfully, Chile will be positioned as South America’s leader in digital infrastructure.
South America’s very first Google data center was built in Chile. Currently, the country houses 22 facilities, many catering to neighboring countries and the broader region.
Stability has long been a selling point for Chile. The country has no drug violence, has a strong political climate and well-developed infrastructure that is attractive to data center operators.
However, climate related challenges, such as wildfires and droughts, are still a problem. Last year, environmental concerns led a court to halt construction of a Google data center in Santiago, citing potential impacts on the city’s water table.
Nevertheless, Chile’s data center sector continues to grow. Amazon recently secured environmental approval for a US$200 million data center project, while US tech giant Equinix filed an application for its fifth data center in the country.
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