Amazon announced a new investment of 18 billion in Spain to expand its data centersEconomy |COUNTRY

Many countries have increased their country's money guarantees to 33.7 billion

Amazon has announced a new investment of $18 billion to expand its data centers in Spain.

The multinational company will increase its financial commitment in the country to 33.7 billion

Amazon has chosen the global framework of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona to integrate Spain as its strategic stronghold in the continent.The company's cloud infrastructure division, Amazon Web Services (AWS), has revealed an unprecedented increase in its financial plans for the country, raising its previous commitment of 15.7 billion euros to reach a staggering figure of 33.7 billion estimated for the year 2035.

The move not only strengthens the multinational company's presence in the country, but also represents an additional €18 billion capital investment aimed at fundamentally changing the digital infrastructure and data processing capabilities across the Southern European region.

The money will be allocated mainly for the improvement and growth of existing data centers, which must compete with the dizzying demands arising from the artificial intelligence (AI) generated.In general, Amazon has announced that it will invest more than 200 billion dollars worldwide this year in deploying new AI infrastructure.

The scale of this distribution makes Amazon's investment the largest technological operation, in the history of Spain, symbolically linked to the fifteenth anniversary of the company's landing in the Spanish market.The focal point of this revolution is the autonomous community of Aragon, a region that has hosted the firm's cloud region and is now preparing for massive expansion.

This technology requires the calculation of power and minimal latency that can only be guaranteed by the most advanced local infrastructures.In addition to the digital expansion alone, the project takes into account the physical perspective: the establishment of new factories dedicated entirely to production, logistics storage and especially server recycling, thereby closing the life cycle of the hardware at the border of Spain.

From a macroeconomic perspective, the expected impact is profound and multidimensional.Projections released by the company indicate that this steady flow of capital will act as a driver for the labor market, with approximately 29,900 full-time jobs being created or retained each year.

These activities are not limited to the direct technology sector, but include the entire network of ancillary services, construction, maintenance and logistics carried out by the data center operation.In terms of national wealth, it is estimated that the additional contribution to Spain's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will be 31.7 billion euros in the middle of the next ten years, integrating the digital economy as one of the main pillars of the country's growth.

But aware of the public debate over the technological infrastructure of a major technological footprint, the company's speakers are uniquely emphatic in corporate political responsibility.Amazon has confirmed its "non-negotiable" commitment to sustainability, in that all the energy needed to power its servers comes exclusively from 100% renewable sources, relying on the peninsula's efficient network of wind and solar farms.It also means funding of €30 million for a special program of social development in the local communities where they work.These elements include improving the technical training of local citizens and realizing the benefits of the age of artificial intelligence.

The Minister of Digital Transformation and Public Services, Oscar López, celebrated the announcement made by Amazon, stating that executive action is the key to realizing the new commitments of this multinational company." The Spanish government celebrates and supports the spectacular announcement of Amazon Web Services in our country. Our negotiations to expand its local development in Aragon should bear fruit, while having a huge impact. A driving force that drives direct projectsand other indirect ones in the region," said the owner in a dialogue he participated in with the Global Director of Legal Affairs and Amazon Corporation David Zapolsky.

The president of the government, Pedro Sánchez, also claimed that Spain has a "safe price" for large companies after the news of Amazon, "in a world full of uncertainties", which has become evident again in recent days after the bombings in Iran.

The government reported that of the 29,900 jobs in local businesses, including direct, indirect and involuntary, 6,700 are full-time jobs related to highly skilled data center operations professionals and AWS vendor workers, facility construction workers, data center security personnel, etc.

Since arriving in Spain in 2011, Amazon has invested more than $20 billion in the country in commerce operations, logistics networks, Cloud and AI infrastructure, as well as community support and new projects for customers and companies."As Amazon celebrates 15 years in Spain, this new investment in infrastructure reinforces our long-term commitment and will be crucial for the future of the country's digital economy," said Zapolsky.Mr. Zapolsky added that the company is supporting the innovation and expansion of European cloud and AI infrastructure that is already being used by companies and organizations in growth and development.and we're proud to do it," he said.

The executive stated that AWS provides cloud and AI capabilities to public institutions in Spain and Aragon, including universities, vocational training centers and research institutes, empowering the next generation of researchers, educators and innovators.Among the national organizations and companies using the AWS Region in Aragon are Telefonica, BBVA, Iberia, Indra, Iberdrola, Maffre, Move, Multiverse Computing, Idealista, Ibarcaja, Visink, Government of Aragon, IE, Insud Pharma, Sanpodelv Jeditorial and Groupodelv Jeditorial.

Amazon insists on facing open controversy over energy and water use at its facilities in Aragon. The company has announced it is committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2040. Amazon is investing in 100 solar and wind projects in Spain, including seven new solar farms, to run on renewable energy and support the expansion of local cloud infrastructure.According to the company, the AWS data centers in Aragon have offset their electricity consumption with 100% renewable energy since they opened in 2022.

AWS has also pledged to return more water to communities by 2030 than it uses directly in its operations. By 2024, AWS will achieve 53% of this goal.In Aragon, AWS's €17.2 million investment will support five water projects: detecting and reducing water losses due to leaks in old pipes, increasing the flow of reused water for local farms, implementing an innovative flood management system in Zaragoza, making AWS-based AI solutions available to farmers, increasing the modern intelligent volume of crops. Aqueduct for Huesca

Your subscription is being used on another device

Want to add more users to your subscription?

If you continue reading from this device, other devices will not be able to read it.

Your arrow signature is used on other devices and you can only access EL PAÍS from one device at a time.

If you want to share your account, you can change your subscription to Premium mode and add another user.Each log in with their own email account, allowing you to update your EL PAÍS information.

Do you have a business membership? Go here to sign up for more accounts.

If you do not know who is using your account, we recommend that you change your password here.

If you choose to share your account, this message will appear indefinitely on your device and on the device of the person using your account, and will affect your reading experience.You can view the digital terms and conditions here.