New Zealand is priming up to become AWS’ next big investment destination as the public cloud provider plans deploy NZ$7.5 billion (US$5.3 billion) in a new AWS Asia Pacific (Auckland) Region.

The Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) cloud arm is due to open in 2024 and will create 1,000 new jobs whilst having an estimated economic impact on New Zealand’s GDP of NZ$10.8 billion (US$7.7 billion) over the next 15 years.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has spoken on the investment, ailing Amazon’s plans for the country as “incredibly exciting development”.

She said: “A lot of announcements this week, but I didn’t want this one to pass by.  Amazon’s Web Services’ have made a decision to establish a Cloud Region on New Zealand shores.

“This investment is estimated to be around $7.5 billion. Yes, it means jobs and growth in the sector, but it is also an incredibly exciting development that recognises we are a great place to do business. It also opens up a whole host of opportunities, with Cloud-based technologies playing an important part in our increasingly digital economy. Exciting!”

The new AWS Asia Pacific (Auckland) Region will enable developers, start-ups, and enterprises as well as government, education, and non-profit organisations to run their applications and serve end users from data centres located in New Zealand.

New Zealand organisations currently utilising AWS include Air NZ, ANZ Bank, Bank of New Zealand (BNZ), Contact Energy, Education Perfect, Halter, New Zealand Department of Conservation, Lancom, New Zealand Ministry of Health, New Zealand Ministry of Justice, Orion Health, Sharsies, The Clinician, TVNZ, UneeQ, University of Auckland, Vodafone, Xero, and others.

Prasad Kalyanaraman, Vice President of Infrastructure Services, AWS, said: “AWS supports thousands of organizations across New Zealand in their drive to innovate, succeed, and grow globally. AWS Cloud technology is providing new ways for government to further engage with citizens, for enterprises to innovate for their next phase of growth, and for entrepreneurs to build businesses and compete on a global scale.

“Our investments reflect AWS’s deep and long-term commitment to New Zealand. We are excited to build new world-class infrastructure locally, train New Zealanders with in-demand digital skills, and continue to help local organizations deliver applications that accelerate digital transformation and fuel economic growth.”

Globally, AWS has announced plans for 24 more Availability Zones and eight more AWS Regions in Australia, India, Indonesia, Israel, Spain, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, and the new AWS Region in New Zealand.