Google is deepening its commitment to Finland through a strategy that is being supported by national and local state industrial development agencies.
Firstly, the web giant is investing €600m to build a next-generation datacentre at Hamina, a coastal town 145km (90 miles) east of Finnish capital Helsinki and close to the border with Russia.
In a second major capital commitment, Google has partnered with the City of Helsinki to establish a technology training hub that will deliver entry-level and advanced digital skills courses to job seekers and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
In fact, Google is no stranger to Finland or Hamina, having opened a datacentre in the Finnish port town in 2011. Hamina has since become one of Google’s most advanced and cost-efficient datacentres – its cooling system uses seawater from the Gulf of Finland to reduce energy consumption.
The new datacentre at Hamina is being built on the site of a disused paper factory, and will increase Google’s total capital investment in Finland since 2011 to €1.4bn.
