Google to invest more than US$1.5 billion in the Dominican Republic as a digital hub, Abinader announces

President Luis Abinader announced that Google is developing an investment of more than US$1.5 billion in the Dominican Republic to turn the country into a digital hub, during his participation in the 16th Ibero-American Business Meeting held Wednesday in Madrid, ahead of the 30th Ibero-American Summit.

"Google is making the largest investment with the Dominican Republic as a digital 'hub,' with an investment of more than 1.5 billion," Abinader said at the forum, according to the EFE news agency. "It turns us into a country with special ease for data centers," he added.

The president presented the project as proof that the Dominican economy is "much more than tourism" and is moving toward higher value-added investment. He said the country will grow more than 4.5% this year, among the fastest rates in Latin America, and noted that the baseball industry moves between US$500 million and US$600 million a year, while between 60% and 65% of Spanish investment is concentrated in hotels.

Abinader also spoke at the forum about sargassum, a problem affecting Caribbean coastlines that, he said, has at times shut down power plants unable to draw the water they need because of the abundance of the seaweed. The president proposed that the affected countries work together on a solution, according to EFE.

The remarks were part of Abinader's agenda in Madrid, where he is attending the 30th Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government, held November 4-5. On Wednesday, the president also proposed that the Dominican Republic host a center for the new Ibero-American Artificial Intelligence Alliance, as A Lo Claro reported.

Photo: El Seis

Source: EFE / Prensa Mercosur