A feasibility study has been prepared, a location and a financial model are being provided for the project that will be the basis for the government cloud, cybersecurity and the development of artificial intelligence.
In tonight's interview on Macedonian Television, in the programme "Na prva", the Minister of Digital Transformation Stefan Andonovski announced that the Government is beginning the implementation of one of the most significant infrastructure projects for the digital future of N. Macedonia – the construction of a National Data Centre.
"We have made a decision due to the vision and determination of the Prime Minister, and we are currently working on one of the most significant infrastructure projects for the digital future of N. Macedonia – the construction of a National Data Centre," emphasised Andonovski.
The Minister clarified that the data centre is not just a facility housing servers, but a key state infrastructure on which the digital development of the country will be built.
"If roads connect cities, the data centre connects institutions. Instead of each institution having its own server rooms with different levels of security, the state will have one modern, highly protected and energy-efficient place from which digital services will be provided in the next 20 to 30 years," he emphasized.
Andonovski informed that a feasibility study has already been prepared, confirming that the project is technically and financially viable. According to the vision of the Ministry, N. Macedonia ought to receive a modern Tier III National Data Centre, which will serve as the foundation for establishing a government cloud, protecting state data, developing systems based on artificial intelligence and delivering a new generation of digital public services.
At this stage, the Ministry is working in parallel to secure an appropriate location, defining the financial model and establishing the partnerships necessary for the implementation of the project.
The Minister said that just as roads, railways and the power grid are the foundation of economic development in the last century, data centres represent the strategic infrastructure of the 21st century.
"Without data centres, there is no digital state, no artificial intelligence, no cybersecurity, and no secure electronic services. With this project, we are laying the foundation on which digital North Macedonia will be built in the coming decades," noted Andonovski.
