Australia must secure $52 billion from private investors and government corporations to build data centres and supporting infrastructure if it wants to become a regional digital hub, new research from consultants Deloitte forecasts.
The research, commissioned by US technology titan Google – which is seeking certainty from the Australian government over how it would tax a potential $20 billion investment in an artificial intelligence and data centre operation here – argues the nation needs to approve projects faster and develop clear regulations to secure investment.
A previous version of this story said Google is seeking tax breaks for a potential $20 billion data centre operation in Australia. The story has been updated to clarify that Google is seeking certainty from the Australian government about how it would tax any data centre hub the company might build here.