Regional data center in Guyana can cost US$3B

Last Updated on Sunday, 12 October 2025, 9:37 by Writer

The cost of establishing a data center in Guyana that could serve the rest of the Caribbean could be US$2 billion to US$3 billion, President Irfaan Ali said on Saturday.

“We can take the simple route and decide we just pay for these investments or make the sacrifice now,” he said at the official opening of SOMA Hotel and Restaurant owned by Lars Mangal’s TOTALTEC Group of companies.

Word of the price tag comes as ExxonMobil Guyana prepares to appraise the hydrocarbon resources at Longtail in the Stabroek Block. The company and the government are on record as saying Longtail’s gas deposit can feed a second gas to energy plant, fertiliser plant, an alumina plant and data centres in Berbice.

Data centres require wide expanses of land, substantial amounts of water to keep the network servers cool, and a high level of stable and cheap electricity to ensure viability.

“Imagine Guyana having a hyperscale data centre that can bring all of the innovation to Guyana, that can create the computing space for the entire region right in Guyana, that can be the sovereign storage space for the entire region right here in Guyana,” he said.

The President said financial technologies (FinTech) including digitalisation and modernisation of the entire region could form part of plans for the data centre. “Imagine if we have all the data space for all our computing needs and all of our digital platforms in Guyana, that we don’t have to pay for that, we’ll have it free,” he added.

The 52-room SOMA Hotel and the 120-seat restaurant and lounge will employ 60 to 100 Guyanese during the first phase.

TOTALTEC Group of Companies says the hotel’s materials, furnishings and produce are locally sourced.