Google buys €27m land in Finland for data center expansion

U.S. search engine giant Google has acquired about 1,400 hectares of land worth 27 million euros at Muhos and Kajaani in Finland to expand its cloud and data center infrastructure.

The Finnish government on Thursday granted the state-run forest agency Metsähallitus a permission to sell four parcels of land, said a government press release.

The areas are part of the assets of Metsähallitus used for its business activities and they have mostly been in commercial forestry use.

Google has been operating data centers in Finland since 2011, creating several thousands of direct and indirect jobs during construction.

The Google data center campus in Hamina employs about 400 people full-time at present. The impact of the potential expansion on employment is estimated to be significant, both directly and indirectly.

One of the business activities of Metsähallitus is the commercial utilisation of state assets assigned to it. For this purpose, Metsähallitus sells and rents land and water areas.

However, land sales of this size do not take place very often in Finland.

“For more than a decade, Finland has been home for our Google data center in Hamina, and we're dedicated to supporting the country's growing digital ambitions. Even before a final investment decision is made for the development of the sites in Kajaani and Muhos, we are working in close consultation with local and national stakeholders on a plan that supports the long-term health of the community’s economy and natural resources. This is the first step in a long process”, said Antti Järvinen, Country Director Google Finland.

Use of the areas for the planned purpose will require statutory land use planning. Google will make a decision on the use of the land areas based on the framework conditions of the land use planning and permit processes.

Metsähallitus will not participate in the project development or business and production activities planned for the areas.

Metsähallitus has requested statements concerning the areas from the Ministry of the Environment, the Finnish Heritage Agency, the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of the Interior as required by the Transfer Act. According to the obtained statements, there were no impediments to the transfer.

“Metsähallitus promotes green growth by providing sites for green transition projects. This requires balancing economic, environmental, and social sustainability perspectives, as well as extensive cooperation with various stakeholders. The land sale for Google's potential data center investment is an excellent example of how state-owned areas can be used as engines for green growth, while creating jobs and positive regional impacts. We warmly welcome Google to expand its operations in Finland and look forward to further collaboration in developing these areas”, said Juha S. Niemelä, Director General of Metsähallitus.