Argentina gets taste of global data-centre boom

Javier Milei is determined to turn Argentina into a technology hub and he travels the world to promote the country’s advantages: vast expanses of land, water, cheap energy and the promise of a legal framework tailored to the needs of major digital corporations as they develop data-storage infrastructure. 

Data centres are the big talking point of the present, both in Argentina and abroad. The President presents them as a source of billions of dollars in investment and economic development. 

The problem is that the term – data centres – covers everything from facilities that have been operating for years to projects that exist, for now, only in the form of an announcement.

Not for the first time, promises are some way ahead of reality.

A data centre is a physical facility designed to house technological infrastructure, including servers, storage systems and networking equipment, that allow large volumes of information to be processed, stored and distributed. 

In truth, they are nothing new. Data centres have existed since businesses and governments first needed dedicated facilities to handle large quantities of data. But the digital explosion, and particularly the development of artificial intelligence (AI), has transformed their scale: they increasingly require greater processing and storage capacity and, above all, more energy.

Argentina has already seen two high-profile announcements. In October 2025, just before the midterm elections, OpenAI and Sur Energy signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) to develop a data centre in Patagonia, with a potential investment of up to US$25 billion. To date, no final investment decision has been confirmed, and the project's location has yet to be verified.

In July, Poland’s Green Capital announced plans for a data centre in Trelew, Chubut Province. According to the company, the first phase is intended to deliver 300 megawatts (MW) of power, with an eventual target of 3,000 MW dedicated to technological infrastructure. The company aims to conclude discussions with investors and potential clients by 2027, while construction is projected to begin in 2028.

Outside of these grand plans, it’s worth noting that data centres are already part of Argentina’s digital infrastructure and the sector is looking to expand. The proliferation of projects and announcements is also creating a need to organise the available information and establish what actually exists on the ground.

Pablo Serdán, a lawyer and lecturer at the University of Buenos Aires, developed the Tengo Data data-centre observatory. Its public register identifies 67 data centres in Argentina, of which 52 are operational, one is under construction, 13 have been announced and one has been cancelled.

The Cámara Argentina de Internet (CABASE) chamber group has also begun compiling its own register. The organisation, chaired by Ariel Graizer, has focused on data centres currently providing services to third parties. It has identified 14 facilities in this category with a capacity of more than 1 MW and a combined installed capacity of nearly 32 MW.

These mapping exercises help explain the sector and will identify its needs as it develops. Last month, the national Energy Secretariat established the Régimen de Demandas Extratendenciales (Extraordinary Demand Regime, XDEM) within the wholesale electricity market (MEM), which will require major projects to provide and pay for their own energy supply. 

The aim is to prevent the overloading of existing infrastructure and safeguard uninterrupted electricity supplies for households, PyMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises, or SMEs) and businesses.

Where are Argentina’s data centres located?

According to information tracked by the Tengo Data observatory (which is based on verifiable information, such as news articles, official bulletins, company press releases, environmental impact assessments, and other public documents), nine of the operational and publicly announced data centres recorded are associated with the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Six are “hyperscale” (business-critical, largescale) projects, two involve high-performance computing infrastructure and one is an operational data centre with infrastructure documented as “AI-ready.”

Looking at all the facilities across Argentina, including small and medium-sized data centres that provide services to businesses and public institutions, a pronounced geographical concentration is clear.

Buenos Aires City accounts for 18 of the 67 entries, while neighbouring Buenos Aires Province has another 10. Together, the two jurisdictions account for 28 facilities, or 42 percent of the total. 

Southern Neuquén Province ranks second, with 12 entries, reflecting both existing facilities and the number of projects announced in recent years. The remainder are spread across Córdoba, Santa Fe, San Luis, Salta, Chubut, Río Negro, Mendoza, La Pampa, San Juan and other provinces, alongside several projects whose intended locations have yet to be defined or disclosed.

The concentration in and around Buenos Aires is no coincidence. Data centres serving businesses and consumers need to be close to the places where information is generated and consumed. Distance has a direct impact on latency, the time it takes for data to travel from one point to another.

CABASE chair Graizer explains that this distinction also determines the type of facility required. “Some data centres need to be close to people because latency has to be lower. The ubiquity of the Internet means the little spinning wheel doesn’t freeze and you can scroll quickly through TikTok or Instagram,” he said.

Facilities serving other purposes, such as training AI models, can be located far from major cities. They operate according to different requirements. Patagonia is an attractive prospect for the tech giants.

Indeed, some announced projects are beginning to sketch out a different map from the one that exists today. Of the 13 projects listed by Tengo Data, seven are in Neuquén, two in Chubut and two in Buenos Aires Province. One project lists Neuquén, Río Negro and Chubut as possible locations, while another is associated with the Malvinas Islands (which the UK calls the Falkland Islands).

Ongoing debate

Among Milei’s supporters, the argument is straightforward: Argentina has no say in the technological race between the United States and China. The best course of action, therefore, is to create the conditions for data centres to be built in the country and secure a share of the benefits while the giants determine the future.

On the other side, critics warn about the enormous consumption of resources these facilities require and the relatively few jobs they create. In the United States, in particular, opposition movements against data centres are gaining ground, with the constructions becoming key issues in local elections.

Between these positions are those who recognise the opportunity but want investment to be accompanied by a clear regulatory framework that protects the environment and takes account of the political and social implications. Storing data is not the same as stockpiling grain.

The debate has already reached domestic politics. National deputy Juan Marino (Unión por la Patria-Buenos Aires Province) is among those seeking to intervene directly, drawing inspiration from the resistance that has begun to organise in the United States.

“We must take inspiration from the example of that popular mobilisation. We propose convening regional assemblies in the provinces and municipalities where these hyperscale data centres are intended to be built. We cannot allow our land, water and energy to be used to power the artificial intelligence that American monopolies use for Trump’s wars,” he said.

The atmosphere in the United States is increasingly charged. On July 18, 142 protests against data-centre expansion took place across 42 states. According to monitoring by the Data Center Watch watchdog, the number of local opposition groups reached 843 across 49 states by September.

Meanwhile, during the first half of 2026, more than 120 projects, with an estimated combined value of nearly US$200 billion, were blocked or delayed in the US. The dispute has also reached state legislatures: proposals for moratoria have been put forward in 14 states, while various governments have begun debating how the costs of electricity and the infrastructure needed to supply it should be shared between major consumers and other users.

The arguments are still ongoing and the issue is becoming increasingly prominent in public debate. One thing, however, is already clear: Milei has already chosen a side. The government’s strategy, as the President said himself at the United Nations, is to open the country’s doors to major digital infrastructure projects.