"After announcing plans to build a massive data center in Hong Kong, costing over $300 million, Google is scrapping plans, and the company says it came down to money. With the rising cost of real estate, coupled with daily operating costs, the company could not move forward.
The abrupt cancellation of the product has industry insiders stratching their heads, as even the website devoted to the plans has been taking down. The Hong Kong site, seemed to be a necessity due to the surge in Smartphone usage in the area. The data center was to rival the company's in-construction centers in Taiwan and Singapore, with a total speed boost for the three centers of 30% .
There is even a suggestion that the fractured relationship with the Chinese government may have played a part in the reversing of the plan. The Internet giant controversially pulled out of the country in 2010 after allegations that Chinese authorities hacked into email accounts belonging to activists.
Google issued a statement stressing their commitment to Hong Kong:
While we see tremendous opportunity and potential in Hong Kong - we're actively hiring, just opened a larger office and recently launched a partnership with the Chinese University of Hong Kong to invest in tomorrow's innovators - we will not be moving ahead with this project.
To keep up with the rapid growth in users and usage across the region, we need to focus on locations where we can build for economies of scale. Unfortunately, there is a lack of land for expansion in Hong Kong. We will continue to work closely with the government on this process, and will continue to invest and grow in Hong Kong.
Seemingly unaffected by the annoucement, centers in Taiwan and Singapore are still scheduled to come online next year."
