Seagrass Services, a Google subsidiary, has signed an agreement to lease a site at Burrows Hill, Bermuda, for $4.8 million.
First reported by Bernews, Seagrass will use the land as part of its plans for its Nuvem subsea cable system.
Expected to be operational next year, the 7,194km Nuvem cable will connect Annie’s Bay in Bermuda to Sines and São Miguel in Portugal and South Carolina, US.
Plans for the cable were first announced in September last year when Google committed to investing in Bermuda.
The land, originally owned by the Government of Bermuda, measures 5.9 acres and was being leased to the Bermuda Land Development Company (BLDC).
The BLDC has now merged with the West End Development Corporation to form the Bermuda Land Management Corporation (BLMC), and the newly established entity has leased the land to Seagrass Services for 262 years.
The site is currently home to the Remote Control Car Track. The track will be moved to another site and works will be funded entirely by Google.
Speaking in the House of Assembly on September 20, David Burch, the minister of public works, said: “It is intended for this agreement to act as a ‘magnet’, drawing other players in the communication industry, whether for laying their own cables or leasing from Google. There have already been inquiries from other major companies into building data centers in Bermuda.
"The successful agreement for this lease will deliver on the Government’s economic development commitments outlined in its 2020 Election Manifesto by creating the infrastructure to support a technology hub.”
Google was forced to promise it would not be building a cable landing station facility at Annie’s Bay Park on St David’s Island at the end of last year. Annie’s Bay Park is home to a memorial for local families.
At the time, the tech giant said the Nuvem cable would use the existing manhole in the Annie’s Bay area and go to a GlobeNet landing station near the airport.
The acquired land in Burrows Hill is located around 3km from Annie’s Bay.
Bermuda is home to the CBUS, CB-1, Gemini Bermuda, and GlobeNet cables. All of its connectivity is via the US, South America, and the Caribbean. The Nuvem cable will be the first to directly connect the island to Europe.
