en.Wedoany.com Reported - Trinidad and Tobago will build data centers with a total capacity of up to 800MW, as the government signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with EY and Hummingbird AI Holdings on Friday.
According to state media TTT, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar signed these agreements on Friday, including proposals from U.S. companies EY and Hummingbird AI Holdings to build data centers in the Caribbean nation, marking the first such agreements in the country.
Regarding the MoU with EY, EY will collaborate with a third-party developer to build a 300MW data center and establish a cooperation framework for large-scale data centers and supporting infrastructure.
The second MoU with Hummingbird AI Holdings includes a proposal to build a 150MW AI data center and supporting infrastructure, with long-term capacity potentially increasing to 500MW. The timeline for this MoU appears tight, with a proposed initial commercial operations deadline of the first quarter of 2028.
The government stated that these projects, along with the proposed redevelopment of the Point Lisas steel plant, are expected to bring a total investment of $5 billion over the next few years and create more than 5,000 jobs.
Following the signing of the MoUs, water usage has raised concerns. Due to aging infrastructure and reduced water supply by the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) during prolonged droughts, water supply in Trinidad and Tobago is frequently interrupted. According to the Trinidad and Tobago Guardian, after the MoUs were signed, Minister of Public Utilities Barry Padarath stated that these data centers would not negatively impact the country's water security.
The Minister said that Debe is being considered as a special economic zone for this digital infrastructure, and artificial ponds will be built to supply water to the data centers. Ultimately, desalination plants will still need to be constructed to ensure water security for the data centers as well as residential and commercial users. The Minister explained: "We will adopt a hybrid system, first utilizing artificial ponds, and if additional water supply is needed by then, desalination plants will come online. The water demand from these data centers will not affect WASA's commercial and residential customer services in any way."
In terms of electricity, Trinidad and Tobago's solar energy market is expected to expand rapidly. According to an overview by Research and Markets, as of 2024, the country's installed solar capacity was 8.37MW, and it is projected to grow to 336.24MW by 2029. This could be a factor attracting data center operators seeking low-carbon markets.
Despite these positive factors, given that the first facility is planned to be completed in 2028, the question is no longer whether Trinidad and Tobago wants to become a data center hub, but whether its water and electricity infrastructure can be built quickly enough to support the market.
