Plans to construct a major data centre in Tobago have been abandoned, bringing an end to a project that was once expected to strengthen the island’s digital infrastructure and position it as a hub for information and communication technology services.
The proposed Tier III data centre was announced in 2017 as a joint initiative between the Eco-Industrial Development Company of Tobago (EIDCOT) and the Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT). The facility was slated for development at the Cove Eco-Industrial and Business Park and was designed to provide secure data storage, cloud services, and other digital solutions to businesses across Trinidad and Tobago.
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Despite the project’s early promise, construction never got underway. TSTT did not publicly explain why the initiative was discontinued or whether there are plans to revive it in the future. The shelving of the project comes as the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) continues to prioritize digital transformation as part of its broader economic development strategy, making the absence of a local data centre more significant.
Industry stakeholders, however, believe the need for such a facility has not diminished. Larry Richards, Operations Manager at EIDCOT, speaking in his personal capacity as a leadership management consultant, said businesses increasingly require secure off-site data storage to protect critical information and ensure operational continuity.
“If you are on a premise and there is a fire, if your server is on the premise, then it could be destroyed. At a data centre, it is stored securely and efficiently for you in a way that can easily be accessed,” Richards said.
He added that data centres provide businesses with greater resilience and long-term value by safeguarding digital assets while allowing organizations to scale without being constrained by physical storage limitations.
Richards also distinguished between a conventional data centre and the artificial intelligence (AI) data centres recently proposed for Trinidad, explaining that traditional facilities primarily store and manage information, while AI data centres house the advanced computing infrastructure needed to develop and operate artificial intelligence systems.
“For AI data centres, this is where the AI models are stored… It is the infrastructure of the AI,” he said, noting that the two types of facilities serve different technological purposes.
The cancellation of the Tobago project comes just days after the Government of Trinidad and Tobago signed agreements with U.S. companies to explore the development of large-scale AI data centres in Trinidad. Those proposed investments are expected to support artificial intelligence infrastructure and create thousands of jobs, although they have also generated debate over energy consumption, water usage and environmental impacts.
While Tobago’s long-planned data centre has been shelved, technology experts argue that expanding digital infrastructure remains essential to the island’s economic future. They say reliable data storage, cloud computing and digital services will continue to play a critical role in supporting businesses, government operations and innovation as the Caribbean accelerates its digital transformation.
