For an press agency, I received the unique assignment to document one of the most secure and strategic locations in Belgium: the Google Datacenter campus in Saint-Ghislain. Although the site itself is strictly closed to the public, we captured the massive scale of this project with precision from legal flight zones surrounding the perimeter.<\/p>\n
A Giant on Belgian Soil<\/b> What you see here is not just an industrial estate. It is one of the most important hubs of the global internet. The Saint-Ghislain campus was Google\u2019s first European datacenter, opened in 2009, and has since grown into a giant supporting the digital needs of millions of users across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA).<\/p>\n
Key facts about this site:<\/b><\/p>\n Surface Area:<\/b> The campus now covers approximately 90 hectares<\/b> (over 130 football fields).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Investment:<\/b> Google has invested more than \u20ac3 billion<\/b> in the Belgian site to date.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Capacity:<\/b> The site currently houses five massive datacenter buildings. Construction is already underway on an adjacent plot to nearly double the existing capacity.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Sustainability:<\/b> It is one of the most efficient datacenters in the world, using an advanced water-cooling system from the nearby canal, eliminating the need for energy-intensive air conditioning.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Employment:<\/b> The site directly employs 400 to 500 specialists<\/b>, with hundreds of additional indirect jobs created through ongoing construction.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n