CloudHQ to invest $4.8 billion to build Mexico data centers

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MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -U.S. tech firm CloudHQ will invest $4.8 billion in a project to build six data centers in Mexico’s central Queretaro state over the coming years, a company executive said on Thursday, adding these would be used to fuel cloud computing and artificial intelligence.

Speaking at a press conference with top government officials, Chief Operating Officer Keith Harney said CloudHQ was seeking a long-term tenant lease before it proceeds with the construction of the site.

These would be fueled by a 900-megawatt private substation, he said.

“Starting up investments in data centers is important for Mexico,” added President Claudia Sheinbaum. “It brings the country the capacity to process data related to artificial intelligence and information technology.”

“We also need these investments to bring benefits for the community,” she added.

Data centers store the increasingly vast amounts of digital information kept and processed on the internet, but they require large amounts of constant power supply and cooling systems to stop their computer systems from overheating.

Harney said the data centers would use a waterless cooling system, and Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard said the facility’s water consumption would be “very low.”

Queretaro, like many parts of central and northern Mexico, has faced years of water stress as industrial projects and agriculture weigh on the area’s groundwater systems while climate change makes rainfall and temperature less predictable.

Regarding energy, Harney said the project was aiming to use clean energy, but since the data centers would demand large amounts of constant power this would not be used exclusively.

The site is expected to be ready by 2027, when it should provide 900 permanent jobs at the site, he said.

(Reporting by Sarah Morland and Raul Cortes; Editing by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez and Kylie Madry)