By Robert Andre Emmanuel
The government is set to establish a new Tier 4 data centre on the island as part of its broader digital transformation agenda for 2025, Information Minister Melford Nicholas announced during his Budget presentation on Wednesday.
The new facility, which he said will meet EN 50600 standards, is set to replace the current data centre housed under the Parliament building.
While the building for the new centre is already constructed and has the required structural integrity, its location remains confidential due to national security considerations.
“We have outgrown the data centres that we have,” Nicholas told Parliament, explaining that the expansion is necessary to support growing artificial intelligence solutions and increased data storage requirements.
The facility, he said, will serve as the backbone for critical government services including Customs, Immigration, Treasury, and Inland Revenue operations.
Outlining digital initiatives, the MP also announced plans to implement public halls in two locations – one in Barbuda and another at the future Sunshine Car Park Hub – to enable citizens to access government services without traveling across multiple offices.
During his presentation, the minister also revealed several other technological advancements in the pipeline, including the completion of the Land Registry digitization project.
This will allow the implementation of a single land registry covering both Antigua and Barbuda, facilitating property ownership documentation.
Healthcare services are also getting a digital upgrade, with the ministry procuring a new hospital information system for the Sir Lester Bird Medical Centre.
The system will integrate 18 Information Technology products into one platform, managing everything from scheduling to procurement and pharmacy operations.
According to Nicholas, the government is also moving to establish an Internet Exchange Point on island. He explained that it would improve efficiency and reduce costs by allowing local data to be processed within the islands rather than being routed through Miami.
“If, for example, the Ministry of Finance needed to send some information from the Treasury to the Customs Department… the information has to travel from Antigua to Miami and then back,” Nicholas explained, highlighting the current inefficiencies the exchange point would address.
Other planned developments include the expansion of the digital signature framework, upgrading approximately 600 computers in the public service, and implementing a new integrated traffic violation management system.
The latter will link the Transport Board, Royal Police Force, and Magistrates’ Court to better track and enforce traffic violation payments.
Nicholas emphasized that these technological improvements are crucial for modernizing government services and improving efficiency.
The initiatives form part of the government’s transition from what he described as a “paper-driven bureaucracy into a fully streamlined online portal.”
