Amazon commits to investing $13 billion to expand data centres in Australia
Amazon has announced plans to invest $13 billion over the next five years to expand its data centre infrastructure across Australia, marking the largest single investment by a global technology company in the country to date.
The funds will be directed towards building artificial intelligence-driven data centres through 2029, as demand for cloud computing and generative AI continues to surge.
The partnership was announced through a press release, which emphasised the project's expected impact on national productivity, employment, and digital capability.
“This investment will generate economic opportunity for Australians, including skilled jobs and infrastructure that can support complex AI and supercomputing applications,” said Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
The Department of Industry, Science and Resources projects AI and automation could contribute up to $391 billion to Australia’s GDP annually by 2030.
We’re taking advantage of the AI revolution - the Australian way. Amazon Web Services’ $20 billion investment in data centres in Australia will set us up for the future, boosting our economy and productivity.
This is a huge vote of confidence in the Australian economy.… pic.twitter.com/GqQ0KxF9bdAmazon Web Services (AWS) Chief Executive Matt Garman called AI a “once-in-a-generation transformation,” adding that the company aims to empower Australians to innovate at scale.
To support its expanding cloud infrastructure, Amazon will also develop three new solar farms in Victoria and Queensland.
These sites will generate more than 170 megawatts of renewable energy for the data centres. Once complete, Amazon will operate 11 solar farms across the country, capable of producing 1.4 million megawatt-hours annually—enough to power approximately 290,000 Australian homes.
Amazon began its Australian operations in 2012 with the launch of the AWS Asia Pacific (Sydney) Region.
Since then, it has established additional facilities in Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney, while training more than 400,000 Australians in digital skills, including those linked to AI technologies.