Amazon Invests NZ$7.5bn in New Zealand Data Centres, Boosting Local AI Capabilities and Job Opportunities

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is investing NZ$7.5bn to build and operate data centers in New Zealand, aiming to address latency issues and data residency requirements for local businesses. The new region will enable organizations to keep data local while tapping into AWS infrastructure used by global platforms like Netflix and Spotify. The investment is expected to add NZ$10.8bn to the country's GDP and support over 1,000 full-time jobs annually.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has announced a significant investment of NZ$7.5bn to establish and operate data centers in New Zealand. This move aims to address latency issues and meet local data residency requirements for businesses in the country. The new AWS Asia Pacific (New Zealand) Region will enable organizations to keep their data local while leveraging AWS's advanced infrastructure, which is used by global platforms such as Netflix and Spotify.

The investment is projected to contribute NZ$10.8bn to New Zealand's GDP over time and support more than 1,000 full-time equivalent jobs annually across various sectors including engineering, telecommunications, and data center operations. The new region will consist of three Availability Zones, each designed with independent power, cooling, and physical security, and linked via low-latency networks to support high-availability workloads.

AWS's commitment to sustainability is evident in its decision to run the new data centers on renewable energy from day one. The company has entered a long-term agreement with Mercury NZ to source power from the Turitea South wind farm. This aligns with AWS's global goal to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040 under The Climate Pledge.

AWS is also expanding its skills programs in New Zealand, having already trained over 50,000 individuals in cloud skills through initiatives such as AWS Academy, AWS Educate, and AWS Skill Builder. Under a Memorandum of Understanding with the New Zealand government, AWS has committed to training 100,000 individuals in total.

The new AWS Region will add to a series of infrastructure milestones in New Zealand, including Amazon CloudFront edge locations and AWS Direct Connect sites launched in Auckland. This investment positions New Zealand as a strategic hub for digital growth in the Asia Pacific region.

References:

[1] https://datacentremagazine.com/news/aws-launches-new-zealand-data-centre-infrastructure-region
[2] https://www.benzinga.com/markets/tech/25/09/47442879/amazon-pushes-50-billion-asia-pacific-digital-growth-strategy-further-with-4-4-billion-aws-investment-in-new-zealand