Datagrid Secures Final Approval for Landmark 280MW Data Center Campus in New Zealand's South Island
March 11, 2026
In a significant development for New Zealand's digital infrastructure, Datagrid New Zealand has received full regulatory approval to construct the country's first hyperscale data center campus on the South Island. The project marks a pivotal step in decentralizing the nation's data center capacity and leveraging the region's renewable energy resources for high-tech industries.
The company announced this week that the Southland District Council, Environment Southland, and Invercargill City Council have granted the necessary resource consents for its planned facility in Makarewa, near Invercargill. The approved campus will have a total capacity of 280 megawatts (MW) spread across 78,000 square meters (840,000 square feet) of data center space. Construction can now commence on the 49-hectare site, which was acquired in early 2022.
Integral to the project's viability is the concurrent approval for the landing of the Tasman Ring Network subsea cable at nearby Oreti Beach. This 6,000-kilometer cable system, scheduled for launch in 2027 with a design capacity of 540 terabits per second (Tbps), will provide the first international subsea fiber connection directly to the South Island, linking Invercargill to Sydney and Melbourne in Australia as well as other New Zealand cities.
Remi Galasso, founder and CEO of Datagrid New Zealand, acknowledged the broad support received: “We extend our sincere gratitude - ngā mihi nui - to the iwi, landowners, local councils, and the Southland community for their unwavering support throughout this process. This approval is the result of years of dedication and collaboration, and we are excited about the transformative impact this project will have on Southland and New Zealand as a whole.” The University of Otago is poised to be an anchor tenant for the facility, which could begin operations in 2028.
The development is expected to have substantial implications for the regional and national economy, positioning Southland as a potential hub for data-intensive computing and attracting further technology investments. It also highlights the growing trend of locating large-scale data centers in regions with access to sustainable power and robust connectivity, challenging the traditional dominance of major metropolitan areas.
Source: datacenterdynamics
