This is the most important technological investment in Europe in the coming years
Amazon Web Services (AWS) will invest 15.7 billion euros until 2033 in the three data centers it has in Aragon – in Huesca, El Burgo de Ebro and Villanueva de Gállego (Zaragoza) -, with which the creation of 17,500 new jobs, 6,800 of them in the region, as announced by both the President of the Government of Aragon, Jorge Azcón, and the company itself.
Specifically, AWS has announced its investment plans in Spain through its AWS Europe (Spain) region, with which it will support the equivalent of 17,500 full-time jobs in local businesses annually, contributing €21.6 billion to the gross domestic product. (GDP) of Spain until 2033, according to the company’s own estimates.
AWS will expand its cloud infrastructure in Aragon with the support of the regional government, locating 40% (6,800) of the estimated jobs nationwide in the autonomous community.
These jobs will support industries such as construction, facility maintenance, engineering and telecommunications, among other areas. In addition to these jobs, more than half (12.9 billion euros) of the estimated contribution to Spain’s GDP will be located in the autonomous community of Aragon.
“Since its arrival in Aragon, AWS has turned the region’s potential to attract technological investments into a reality,” said Azcón.
“AWS is a global company, but its participation in the local ecosystem and the communities in which it operates have made it an ‘Aragonese’ company. The investment announced today is unique in the history of technological investments, both in our community and in Spain. Without a doubt, it will place Aragon on the map as a center of innovation and the cloud economy at a European level,” he added.
Azcón made this investment public at an informative breakfast held at the Zaragoza Water Tower, symbol of Expo 2008 in the Aragonese capital, and has assured that Amazon Web Services, through its Cloud Region, will turn Aragon into “the main technological power of Spain.”
To this end, he pointed out that the Government Council approved this Wednesday the declaration of regional interest for this project, with the aim that the administrative processing is carried out “in the shortest possible time” and that this investment “begins to be a reality from minute one”.
Azcón has also indicated that if AWS cannot reach agreements on private land transactions, these could be expropriated, convinced that “there will be conversations by the company with the owners” of the land, insisting that the PIGA ( General Interest Project of Aragon) is an “exceptional” procedure and the Government of Aragon has the authority to carry it out.
“Amazon Web Services multiplies the commitment it makes to Aragon and does it in a big way,” remarked the regional president, who assured that it is not only the most important investment in the history of the autonomous community, but also the most notable. that “from the point of view of technology it will be done in Europe in the coming years.”
MULTIPLY THE ORIGINAL AWS PLAN BY SIX
This €15.7 billion investment from AWS multiplies by six the company’s original plan, announced in 2021, to invest €2.5 billion and support the creation of 1,300 full-time jobs annually over ten years.
In this sense, the general director of AWS for Iberia, Suzana Curic, has assured that the company is “committed” to supporting Spain in various areas.
“Beyond the direct investments and jobs that will be created, we plan to continue our existing collaborations with local schools and community initiatives to support talent development, education programs and sustainability initiatives. We will continue to match the electricity used in our data centers in Aragon with 100% renewable sources and we will continue to look for different ways to innovate and execute our operations in a more efficient and sustainable way, returning resources to the communities where we have a presence,” he stated.
In terms of sustainability, and as part of Amazon’s global climate commitment (Climate Pledge) to achieve net zero carbon emissions in all its operations by 2040, AWS data centers in Aragon have been offsetting the electricity used with 100 % renewable energy since opening in 2022.
Likewise, AWS is also committed to being positive in water consumption before 2030, by returning more water to the community than it uses in its operations.
In Aragon, the company has collaborated on two water projects with local partners that use AWS cloud technology to detect and reduce water loss through leaks in old pipes and increase the flow of reused water to local farms.
“AWS has been an extraordinary and committed partner in our efforts to promote sustainability in the Aragon region. Their collaboration in the ‘Bosque de los Zaragozanos’ initiative through the planting of more than 5,000 trees, and their support in making of Zaragoza, one of the few carbon-neutral cities in all of Europe, have been extraordinary,” said the director of Culture of Sustainability at ECODES, Eva González.
INVESTMENT IN DIGITAL SKILLS
Another of AWS’s initiatives in the region, ‘Think Big Space’, seeks to bring STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) education to local school students and inspire them to undertake studies related to technology in the future.
The goal is to reach more than 50 local schools and 3,500 students between 10 and 16 years old during the first academic year.
Likewise, AWS has also created the ‘Tech Alliance’ in Spain, which brings together a coalition of Spanish companies, including local partners and AWS customers, state agencies and educational institutions to address the gap in technological skills in school curricula techniques and universities.
Through these and other education and certification initiatives, AWS has trained more than 200,000 people in Spain in cloud technology skills since 2017, as part of the company’s global commitment to train more than 29 million people in ‘cloud’ skills – and two million people in artificial intelligence – by 2025.
During this event, AWS has also focused on the importance of growing with local partners and the community, specifically in Aragon.
Telefónica, Adif, IE, Insud Pharma and the Spanish Red Cross are some examples of local clients that use the AWS Region in Aragon.
“Thanks to AWS technology, we can provide critical remote care services and combat the unwanted loneliness of 150,000 elderly and dependent people, in addition to helping their families and caregivers throughout Spain,” highlighted the head of Information Technology. of the Spanish Red Cross, Sandra Pedraza.
