Microsoft planning to build data center hub in Greece

Microsoft Corp. has decided to build a data center hub in Greece as it invests in cloud services infrastructure in the country. It will be a boon to the country’s economy which is weakened by a decade-long debt crisis and the coronavirus pandemic.

Microsoft President, Brad Smith at a virtual event in Athens said that the new hub would be beneficial to business, consumers and banks.

The amount of the investment was not disclosed. A government spokesman, Stelios Petsas said that it would involve new infrastructure at a cost of 500 million euros and annual spending of 50 million euros in the coming years.

“There will be benefits for Greece given our commitment to training for thousands of people,” Microsoft’s Smith said through a translator.

Later in a tweet he revealed that Microsoft’s investment in the country will be the biggest in its 28 years of operation in the country. “This reflects our optimism in Greece’s future and economic recovery,” he said.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the data centre would bring long-term financial benefits of 1.0 billion euros ($1.17 billion) to Greece.

“Greece will become a world hub for cloud,” Mitsotakis said, adding that the state-of-the-art centre would also upgrade the country as an investment destination.

He said the project will include a training program in digital skills for about 100,000 people.