Microsoft has delayed the planned opening of its data center region in Israel.

The company announced plans to open its first data centers in Israel in 2020, with the facilities due to open in 2021 in the Modiin area between Tel-Aviv and Jerusalem.

However, the Times of Israel reports that the data center region’s opening has been pushed back to “early 2022.” Soon after construction began, workers were injured on-site in two separate incidents.

“Israel is a hotbed for digital innovation and entrepreneurship, and cloud technology is playing a pivotal role in new and exciting opportunities for local organizations and communities,” said Ronit Atad, general manager, Microsoft Israel, in a statement. “Behind every successful organization's resilience and growth is the need to enhance their own digital capability. Cloud computing is at the heart of that, with customers’ data one of their strongest assets in leading to acceleration of their business, and the Israeli economy.”

Oracle recently opened an Israeli cloud region in Jerusalem, while AWS and Google are also working to open facilities in the country.

Calcalis Tech and other Israel publications report that Microsoft is no longer in the running for the Israeli Government’s large Nimbus cloud project contract – reportedly in part due to the data center's delay – and the company is filing an appeal after the tender was jointly awarded to AWS and Google. Oracle is also appealing the decision.