Amazon Web Services (AWS) is planning to invest €1.2 billion ($1.3bn) in expanding its data center business in Italy.
The investment will span over the next five years, and will be used to expand AWS' data center operations in Milan, reports Reuters.
According to AWS, the $1.3bn investment announced on November 7 would generate up to 5,500 jobs through to 2029 across the data center supply chain, including construction, facility maintenance, engineering, telecommunications, and jobs within the broader local economy.
Discussions surrounding AWS' investment in Italy have been ongoing since at least May, with the company considering either expanding its Milan site or building a new one in Rome.
According to local publication Il Sole 24 Ore, the company has opted to expand its existing region, and will build new facilities in Lombardy. The report added that Italy could also be used as a base for computational capacity to be provided to AI projects in Africa as part of the Mattei plan.
AWS first launched its cloud region in Italy back in 2020, and promised to invest €2 billion ($2.2bn) by 2029.
The company has also made major investment commitments in other European countries. The company this year announced a €15.7bn ($17bn) data center investment in Spain, upgrading on a previously-pledged €2.5bn ($2.72bn) investment over 10 years.
AWS also plans to invest €7.8bn ($8.48bn) in Germany by 2050 for a European Sovereign Cloud.
In October, Microsoft committed to investing €4.3 billion ($4.75bn) in expanding its cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) data center infrastructure in Italy.
