Spanish privately held ICT and telecoms provider Nethits Telecom Group has unveiled plans to build a 20MW data centre in Valencia which the company estimates could contribute EUR1.9 billion (US$2.2 billion) to the country’s GDP.

The project has been expedited by the president of the Generalitat – the Government of Catalonia -, Ximo Puig, in the Valencian Parliament.

In total, the telecom operator plans to invest EUR 241 million ($279 million) to build the 20,000 sqm/215,300 sqft data centre that will become the largest such facility in the Valencia region.

Due to fully open by 2025, the development is expected to generate 200 direct jobs and a further 1,000 indirect positions.

The exact location of the facility has not been yet disclosed as the company continues to also look for a land plot to build a solar farm to power the centre. Nethits said it plans to have the solar plant no more than 10Km away from the data centre.

The telco added that it is currently in conversations with several potential tenants, however, it has already secured an anchor-tenant with a US-based audio-visual company. Netflix and HBO are not said company.

CEO Javier Salas said: “For the designation of Valencia as a selected location, the interest and support shown by the Government of the Generalitat Valenciana from the first moment has been decisive so that Valencia is configured as a strategic geography in the distribution of data from Southern Europe.

“The involvement of the Valencian Administration is a key factor to facilitate investment and expansion of the project in the coming years.”

Nethits Telecom Group – Nuevo Data Center Valencia from Nethits Telecom Group on Vimeo.

The company has teamed up with British investment funds and managers Adequita Capital and ADVentures Partners, who serve as corporate and financial strategic partners.

The company is also working closely with GAIA-X to support the digital transformation of Southern Europe.

In a video presentation of the project, the company said that Valencia is strategically seen as a reference for last generation technology.

“The city counts with a station for submarine cables that link international operators into Europe through a fibre optic network that connects into Africa and soon to South and North America,” it said in the video.  

The facility will be developed in five stages with works taking the below order:

• Phase 0 (H2 2021): preliminary projects for the development
• Phase 1 (H1 2-22): projecting of the urbanisation and construction works and equipment planification
• Phase 2.1 (H2 2023): urbanisation of the grounds adjacent to the facility
• Phase 2.2 (H2 2023): works to begin on the building that will house the data centre
• Phase 2.3 (H2 2023): commissioning of supplies and services
• Phase 3 (H1 2024): deployment of the initial IT equipment
• Phase 4 (H2 2024): installation of supporting equipment
• Phase 5 (Q1 2025): data centre operations to begin

According to research house Arizton, the Spanish data centre market will witness investments of $1.97 billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 5.85% during 2021-2026.

Together with neighbouring Portugal, the Iberian Peninsula has in 2021 attracted close to $5 billion in data centre capital commitment, with the largest project being the $4.2 billion facility to be built in Sines, 150Km south of Lisbon.