ST. PETERSBURG, June 3. /TASS/. IC Group and VTB Bank have signed a cooperation agreement at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2026) to construct the first data center in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR). Total investment in the project will reach up to 20 billion rubles ($272 bln), the IC Group press service told TASS.

"The agreement was signed by IC Group CEO Ekaterina Belousova and VTB Deputy President and Chairman of the Management Board Denis Bortnikov during SPIEF 2026. The 500-rack data center, equipped with advanced servers, will become part of an industrial technology park in the Donetsk People's Republic. The project involves creating an innovative facility for digital data storage and processing, with total investments reaching up to 20 billion rubles. The project is slated for completion by 2036," the statement said.

Belousova noted a steady rise in demand for local data storage and processing capacities from businesses, telecom operators, and the public sector in Novorossiya and Crimea. According to her, the data center in the DPR is a long-term infrastructure project aimed at boosting the region's digital economy. She emphasized that Donbass possesses significant potential for such infrastructure, driven in part by its robust energy base.

Bortnikov added that developing data storage and processing infrastructure is becoming a cornerstone of the digital economy. He noted that both corporate and public sectors generate consistent demand for modern regional capacities that meet strict reliability and information security standards.

"The DPR's first data center is designed to scale up the region's digital infrastructure. Additional project drivers include the advancement of AI technologies, growing demand for domestic data hosting and processing amid the migration of IT infrastructure from foreign platforms, and tightening information security regulations," the company added.

The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) is underway on June 3-6. This year, the event will be held under the theme "Pragmatic Dialogue: the Path to a Stable Future."

The Roscongress Foundation is the organizer of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. TASS is its official general information partner.