This is a new major investment for Google in South America. On Thursday, the tech giant announced the construction of a data center in Uruguay, for a total of $850 million. This center, located in the Parque de las Ciencias, about 30 km from downtown Montevideo, will be responsible for Google’s digital services such as Search, YouTube, Maps and Workspace.
“We are very pleased to announce this important milestone, which is part of three key commitments: our continued commitment to Latin America, our focus on sustainability, and our strong belief that Uruguay is a hub of innovation in the region,” said Eduardo Lopez, president of Google Cloud Latin America. This data center will be the tech giant’s second in South America, following the one in Quilicura, Chile, which opened in 2015.
Fears over environmental impact
Negotiations for the Uruguayan headquarters began in 2019, under the government of former President Tabaré Vázquez. Google’s announcement comes after it obtained the necessary environmental permits. The amount of water needed per day for a data center has raised questions from environmentalists and academics, especially after the drinking water supply crisis caused by a historic drought in the country in 2023.
Google assured that this new data center would use “air cooling technology” that is “environmentally friendly.” “Sustainability is at the heart of everything we do, and our data centers are designed and operated according to its principles. This is a value shared with the Uruguayan community, and we are committed to growing our business in Uruguay and around the world in a responsible manner,” said Eduardo Lopez.
Once operational, the new Uruguayan site will be integrated into the group’s global network, which includes 28 data centers worldwide, located mainly in the United States and Northern Europe, as well as in Asia (Japan, Taiwan and Singapore).
With AFP
