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Google’s 2013 plan to expand its data center in St. Ghislain, Belgium, was reported as a €300 million investment, equivalent to the $390 million in the headline. It was a historical project announcement—not the same investment as Google’s later building work or its separate 2025 plan for Belgium.
How much did Google invest to expand its Belgium data center?
DataCenterKnowledge reported on April 10, 2013, that Google would invest €300 million to expand its St. Ghislain data center. The outlet’s headline expressed the amount as $390 million. The report is the direct source for that figure; the available material does not establish a contemporaneous Google announcement or public permit record independently confirming the amount. Read the 2013 DataCenterKnowledge report.
Where is Google’s Belgium data center?
The facility covered by the 2013 report is in St. Ghislain, southwest of Brussels. Google’s location page describes the broader St. Ghislain-Mons campus. It says the site uses chilled water from an industrial canal for cooling and a solar farm to help generate power; those campus details should not be read as technical specifications for the particular 2013 expansion. Google’s St. Ghislain-Mons location page.
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What the 2013 report said about the facility
DataCenterKnowledge described St. Ghislain as a European services hub and reported that the facility had approximately 120 employees at the time. It also cited a power usage effectiveness (PUE) of 1.11 as the site’s 12-month average for 2011. PUE compares the data center’s total energy use with the energy used by its IT equipment; the closer the value is to 1, the less overhead energy is being used. The 1.11 figure is a historical, attributed measurement, not a current performance figure.
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How the investment fits with later Google plans
Google has described other, distinct investments involving its Belgian operations. The amounts refer to different projects and time periods, so they should not be combined as though they were one continuous expansion announcement.
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| When | Investment or plan | Scope reported |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | €300 million, presented as $390 million in the headline | DataCenterKnowledge reported a planned expansion of the St. Ghislain data center. Source: DataCenterKnowledge, April 10, 2013. |
| 2018 retrospective | Approximately €250 million | Google said this was for an additional data center building. Its retrospective said total investment in Belgium had reached €1 billion at that time. Source: Google. |
| Announced October 2025; planned for 2026–2027 | €5 billion | Google announced a separate investment plan for Belgium that includes expanding the St. Ghislain campus and adding 300 full-time jobs. Source: Google. |
What the figures do—and do not—tell you
- The $390 million headline figure refers to €300 million for the expansion reported in 2013, not to Google’s later investments.
- The approximately 120 employees and 2011 PUE figure describe the facility at the time of the 2013 report; they do not establish current staffing or efficiency.
- The approximately €250 million building and €1 billion Belgium total are figures from Google’s later retrospective, reflecting the position at that time.
- The €5 billion figure is a planned Belgium-wide investment for 2026–2027, not the cost of the 2013 expansion or necessarily the cost of the St. Ghislain work alone.
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