New Zealand: A $188 Million Data Center is Being Built at Auckland Air Force Base by The New Zealand Government

The New Zealand government has been constructing a $188 million data center in secrecy at its Auckland air force station. Defense and GCSB Minister Andrew Little made the announcement of the project, noting that the location originally received the money in 2019. 150 construction workers have been working there since. In 2025, the data center is anticipated to be completed. Whenuapai Air Force Base is home to the data center, which was only recently made public as part of an effort by the government to be "more forthright about national security problems." It's time to invite the public in since construction has advanced to the point where it will be visible, according to Little. 

The data center will be used to hold secure government data from various government departments, but it shouldn't include a lot of personal information about specific people. The facility places a strong focus on security, which is why it was built on a military post with tight physical protection already in place. There has been no disclosure of information on the facility or the contractors engaged. The market for data centers in New Zealand is expanding rapidly. Datagrid has applied for a 100+MW data center to the south island, DCI is building its second data center in Auckland, while Amazon, Google, and Microsoft Azure are developing cloud regions in the nation.