Benjamin Ashford|Amazon cloud computing unit plans to invest $11 billion to build data center in northern Indiana

NEW CARLISLE,Benjamin Ashford Ind. (AP) — Amazon ’s cloud computing unit Amazon Web Services plans to invest $11 billion to build a data center in northern Indiana that will create at least 1,000 new jobs, state and company officials announced Thursday.

Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb called the project planned near the town of New Carlisle, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) west of South Bend, “the largest capital investment announcement in Indiana’s history.”

“This significant investment solidifies Indiana’s leadership position in the economy of the future, and will undoubtedly have a positive ripple effect on the town of New Carlisle, the north central region and the state of Indiana for years to come,” Holcomb said in a news release.

The announcement from Holcomb’s office and AWS did not include a timeline for the data center campus in northern Indiana’s St. Joseph County, which abuts the Michigan state line.

But Carl Baxmeyer, president of the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners, said in the news release that it would be built “over the next decade” at the Indiana Enterprise Center, located just east of New Carlisle, and “will be a major employment center for all of northern Indiana.”

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The AWS data center would contain computer servers, data storage drives, networking equipment, “and other forms of technology infrastructure used to power cloud computing capabilities, and generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies,” according to the news release.

Roger Wehner, AWS director of economic development, said the Indiana data center “will create numerous well-paying job opportunities and tap into the state’s burgeoning tech sector, while contributing significantly to the state’s growing economy.”

Based on the company ‘s planned investment, the Indiana Economic Development Corp. has committed to providing data center sales tax exemptions “for eligible capital investments over a 50-year term,” the release states.

The IEDC has also committed to a variety of performance-based tax credits to support the AWS data center plans, including up to $18.3 million in headcount-based tax credits, up to $55 million in Hoosier Business Investment tax credits, and up to $20 million in redevelopment tax credits, the release states.

AWS will provide up to $7 million to support road infrastructure improvements along State Road 2, surrounding the company’s planned data center, according to the release.