The Government has agreed a contract with Google leasing six acres of land in St David’s to the tech giant for at least 25 years.

The deal — which will allow a Google subsidiary to build a landing station at Burrows Hill, Southside, for its new transatlantic subsea cable between Portugal and the United States — was signed at a press conference today.

Details of the contract were presented in the House of Assembly last September, when Lieutenant-Colonel David Burch, the public works minister, said the deal would bring in $4.65 million in rent.

Lee Livingstone, a senior executive with Google, described today’s signing as “exciting news”.

He said: “Subsea cables are the core of this network, carrying about 95 per cent of international traffic. They are the super highways of digital trade.

“This is a new transatlantic cable path connecting Bermuda to Portugal and Bermuda to the US. It’s a new cable path, never been built before.”

Mr Livingstone highlighted the island’s “ideal location for us to provide a switching location for international traffic”.

“We looked throughout the Atlantic and there’s not really a lot of landmass in the middle of the Atlantic.”

Mr Livingstone said that the cable link would be completed next year, going operational in early 2027. Construction work on the station will start this year.

Colonel Burch and Walter Roban, the Minister of Home Affairs, signed the contract on behalf of the Government.

Mr Roban said the Nuvem cable signing represented “a significant milestone in Bermuda's journey to becoming a premier communications and digital hub in the Atlantic”.

He added: “It is a transformative development that will establish Bermuda as a key mid-Atlantic communications hub, enhancing connectivity between Europe and the Americas and reducing communication latency.”

Mr Roban said it could attract other communications industry players for technological investment, as well as bringing economic activity, training, community development projects and jobs.

He added: “These include direct positions within the cable landing station and ancillary roles within the burgeoning technology hub that will emerge.”

Mr Roban said it signified a 25 to 40-year commitment from Google.

David Burt, the Premier, described the agreement as “an incredible mission that has taken us very far“.

He said: “As a government, we have always believed in Southside's potential to become a hub for technology and innovation.”

Mr Burt added: “This partnership will create high-quality jobs, and will create training programmes that will equip our people with the skills they need to thrive in a growing digital economy.

“Companies like Google do not make 25 to 40-year commitments lightly. This agreement is a testament to Bermuda’s stability, sound governance and strategic importance to the global digital economy.”