Colombia and UAE Partner to Develop Data Centers in Santa Marta

Colombia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have reached an agreement to establish three strategic data centers in Santa Marta, Colombia, as part of the BioNube Initiative. This collaboration was announced by President Gustavo Petro during his visit to the UAE, where he met with President Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and leaders of the Emirati AI holding company G42 to discuss technological cooperation according to Colombia One.

The BioNube project aims to enhance the security and sovereignty of Colombian state data by creating a sovereign cloud with high governance standards. The initiative will receive an energy capacity of up to 30 megawatts, with connectivity ensured by InterNexa, and a total investment exceeding $80 million as reported by The Diplomatic Insight.

The data centers will be developed and operated by UAE-based technology companies in partnership with Colombian organizations. This project is expected to foster innovation, entrepreneurship, and economic growth in Colombia and the broader Latin American region. The initiative also includes plans for training skilled Colombian personnel and developing cloud-based AI applications.