Datagrid New Zealand has received full resource consent approval to begin construction on its 49-hectare data centre park in Makarewa, outside of Invercargill. The company has also secured approval for its application to land the first international subsea cable connection to the South Island at Invercargill's Oreti Beach.

The approvals pave the way for Datagrid to start building what it says will be the country's first AI factory. While Datagrid did not reveal when the data centre will be operational, saying it anticipated further announcements in the coming weeks as the project advanced, The Press reported last year that Datagrid was aiming to open the first phase of the $3.5 billion data centre by 2028.

Project Specifications and Infrastructure

The approved project includes the construction of a 78,000 square metre state-of-the-art AI factory, equipped with a dedicated grid exit point substation. The campus will host high-density GPU clusters serving global AI and cloud providers, powered by a dedicated 220 kV grid connection to Transpower's transmission network.

Once operational, the facility will consume 280 MW of power. The company said the South Island's cool climate and abundant renewable energy would enable highly efficient, low-carbon operations at the centre supported by advanced cooling technologies.

Employment and Economic Impact

During the construction phase, the initiative is expected to create over 1,200 skilled and technical jobs, delivering employment and economic benefit to the region, according to Datagrid New Zealand founder and CEO Remi Galasso.

In a statement, Galasso said the project's approval was the result of years of dedication and collaboration. "We are excited about the transformative impact this project will have on Southland and New Zealand as a whole," he said.

Tasman Ring Network Development

The landing of the international subsea cable at Oreti Beach will enhance global connectivity and support the nation's growing digital economy, Galasso said. The cable is part of the Tasman Ring Network project, which Datagrid and Chorus launched in 2024 to develop a high-fibre-count subsea cable system linking Invercargill directly with major Australian interconnection hubs.

Datagrid said the network will be purpose-built for hyperscale demand and deliver latency, capacity, and redundancy at international scale. In addition to linking Invercargill with both Sydney and Melbourne, the Tasman Ring Network is set to include connections between Auckland, Sydney and Melbourne, with a domestic connection between the two Australian cities.

A New Zealand domestic connection between Auckland, New Plymouth, Greymouth and Invercargill is also on the cards, which Datagrid says would bypass the Wellington fault zone to strengthen national resilience.

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