Amazon Web Services (AWS) will move forward with a planned data centre complex near Santiago after Chilean environmental authorities rejected objections from residents over the project’s approval process.
According to the Reuters’ report, residents in the Andean foothills north of Santiago had challenged the development, arguing the environmental review did not consider a high-voltage transmission line they claimed would be needed to power the facility.
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Environmental regulators ruled in early April that the project could continue, concluding that any future power line proposal would require a separate environmental assessment.
AWS said the project complies with applicable environmental standards and has been designed to reduce energy and water usage.
The company announced in May last year that it plans to open an infrastructure region in Chile by the end of 2026, with three availability zones at launch.
AWS has pledged to invest more than $4bn over 15 years to develop, operate and maintain data centre infrastructure in Chile.
The country is expected to become the company’s third major Latin American hub after São Paulo and central Mexico.
The Santiago site, located about 8km north of the city centre, is expected to remain operational for roughly 30 years and will join AWS’s global network of more than 900 data centres.
Opposition to data centre projects has intensified globally as demand rises for artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing and data storage capacity.
According to the report, critics have raised concerns about electricity and water consumption, heat emissions, noise and dependence on fossil fuels.
Chile President, José Antonio Kast, has pledged to ease regulatory barriers, a stance that, alongside Chile’s extensive fibre optic connectivity, is expected to support further data centre development in Santiago.
Last month, AWS announced plans to invest $12.7bn in India by 2030, highlighting the country’s role in its longer-term infrastructure strategy as demand for cloud and AI capacity increases.
