Kuok Group eyes €5.3 billion data center investment in Italy

ROME, June 26 (Reuters) - Singapore's Kuok Group is assessing a potential investment plan of up to €5.3 billion for a data centre hub in northern Italy, Industry Minister Adolfo Urso said on Friday.

Urso hosted a meeting in Rome with a delegation from K2 Strategic, the digital infrastructure division of Kuok Group, in which the company presented a plan to build a hyperscale data centre campus in the southern outskirts of Milan.

The total investment for the development and long-term operation of a project with an overall capacity of around 300 megawatt could reach up to €5.3 billion ($6 billion), Urso's ministry said.

Milan's Lombardy region expects booming demand for data centres in Italy, regional councilor Massimo Sertori told Reuters this month, with investments estimated at around €22 billion over the next five years.

Earlier this month, Urso and Lombardy President Attilio Fontana established a joint working group aimed at streamlining permitting processes and handling applications for projects seeking designation as being of national strategic interest.

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(Reporting by Giuseppe Fonte; writing by Francesca Landini, editing by Gavin Jones and Alvise Armellini)