Data center investment in Barcelona could generate €7bn in 2025

It is expected that by 2025 data centers in Barcelona will have a capacity of 173 MW, which would translate into an impact of €7.23 billion on the GDP and generate 2,200 jobs, according to the 'Barcelona, Digital Port of the Mediterranean' report, published on Thursday, by Digital Realty and DE-CIX.

According to the study, to achieve the status of a digital port, it is necessary to develop an ecosystem of data centers, neutral points, cloud service providers, communications networks, system integrators, and consultants.

The report forecasts that 1,030 jobs would created in the construction phase, 713 in the operation phase, and 385 throughout the final process.

Multiplier effect

Experts report that the data centers industry multiplies by seven euros for each invested euro. 

"If the announced investment of 1.04 billion euros to reach the 173 MW capacity materializes, the impact would mean an increase equivalent to 7.7% of Barcelona's GDP in 2022," the report .

Representatives of data companies took part in the study presentation and underlined their confidence in Barcelona.

"Although Barcelona has not historically been an investment destination for data center providers, the arrival of submarine cables, the communications network, and the geographic location for data exchange in the Mediterranean make it a redundancy center for the one in Marseille, France," Robert Assink, CEO of the data company Digital Realty in Spain, said on Thursday.

One of the already-based data center companies in Barcelona is DE-CIX already has three sites across the Iberian Peninsula, including the Catalan capital.

"DE-CIX bet on Barcelona two and a half years ago because we believe in its clear digital future," Theresa Bobis, DE-CIX Southern Europe regional director, said during the announcement.

"Now we see that the ecosystem is developing step by step, as we have already seen in other cities around the world," she added.