NZ InfraWatch
Open the live map →
TELECOM
Datagrid AI Factory — Makarewa, Southland
Datagrid · Southland
Planned 78,000 m² hyperscale AI data centre campus at Makarewa near Invercargill — NZ$3.5b, consented March 2026. ~280MW load (NZ's second-largest electricity user after Tiwai Point), powered via a dedicated Transpower grid exit point and renewables incl. a 140MW Mercury deal. Linked to the Tasman Ring subsea cable landing at Oreti Beach. Construction from 2026; initial operations targeted 2028, full buildout into the 2030s.
C
Breakdown▾
61% · Uncertain
Completion Probability — likelihood this proceeds on roughly its stated timeline.
Each axis is a scoring factor (0–100%)
Key facts
- Region
- Southland
- Sector
- Telecom
- Status
- Planning
- Estimated value
- $3.5b
- Indicative completion
- 2028
- Funding status
- Part Funded
- Lead organisation
- Datagrid
- Election risk
- Low
Election risk assessment
Privately funded and largely election-independent, but faces power-supply, grid-connection and subsea-cable hurdles. Its 280MW demand (NZ's 2nd-largest user after Tiwai) draws scrutiny.
Government priority alignment
MEDIUM — Major digital + energy infrastructure and FDI; very large electricity demand.
Chronology
- 2023Datagrid proposes a hyperscale AI data centre campus for Southland
- 2026Consented (March); 140MW power deal signed with Mercury; subsea cable landing approved at Oreti Beach; construction begins
- 2028Initial operations targeted