The mayor of Trino, in northern Italy, has announced plans to build “what could potentially be Europe's largest data center” at the former Enel Galileo Ferraris power plant, Rai’s regional news service has reported.

According to TGR Piedmont, Trino Mayor Daniele Pane said his administration is working “to untangle the last few knots” to ensure the €4 billion ($4.65bn) proposal benefits the region, including the creation of 300 jobs.

Pane’s announcement refers to a project proposal submitted to the municipality’s office by an international company interested in developing the former power plant, which closed in 2013.

Enel currently operates a large photovoltaic park adjacent to the former thermoelectric power plant in a plot of about 130 hectares. The Trino park is integrated with a lithium-ion battery storage system with a capacity of 25MW and a storage capacity of 100MWh. The energy operator said it is the largest solar power plant in northern Italy.

The project would transform the site into a large digital infrastructure site dedicated to data management, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and advanced IT services, according to the local Italian digital news outlet Giornale La Voce.

Italian data center developer and contractor Techbau is said to be behind the project and expected to acquire the site, added the publication. The photovoltaic park would remain property of Enel Green Power, it continued.

Northern Italy, particularly the Milan region, is the country’s primary digital infrastructure hotspot. It is a rapidly growing hub for data center operators in Europe, driven by its role as a low-latency connector between Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.

Several major international tech companies and global data center providers operate or are developing facilities in the region, including Microsoft, Equinix, Vantage Data Centers, and Stack Infrastructure.

US colo giant Digital Realty said in March that it was expanding its presence in Italy with plans for a campus in Milan.

Learn more about the data center market in Italy and Southern Europe, and meet with other executives and experts from the region at the DCN Milan event next week.