The Dutch AI cloud company Nebius is building one of the Europe’s largest AI data centers in Pajarila, Lappeenranta. The multibillion‑euro project has been developed in cooperation with the City of Lappeenranta and Polarnode.
The data center will be located south of Highway 6 (Kuutostie), on Kettukuja in Pajarila. The buildings and technical infrastructure will be placed across two plots with a combined area of 41 hectares.
Construction will begin immediately (spring 2026) and will proceed in several phases over multiple years. The first phase is scheduled for completion during 2027.
Pajarila data center will be one of Europe’s largest dedicated AI factories when fully deployed with 310 MW. The investment positions Finland as an AI compute hub.
The data center will bring substantial economic and employment benefits to the South Karelia region of Finland.
The construction phase is expected to create up to 700 skilled construction jobs, mostly sourced in the Lappeenranta area, with around 100 permanent positions once the data center is operational, as well as hundreds of indirect employment opportunities for operations and maintenance.
The operator of the data center is Nebius. The project has been developed in cooperation with the City of Lappeenranta and it basis on the cooperation agreement (yhteistoimintasopimus) between the city and Polarnode, signed in 2025.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can learn more about the project in the Frequently Asked Questions section, where we provide additional details from different perspectives. You may also submit your own question.
Contact information for media
City of Lappeenranta:
Tuomo Sallinen, Mayor of Lappeenranta
Tel. +358 40 624 1422, tuomo.sallinen@lappeenranta.fi
Requests for interviews with the Mayor are coordinated through the Liaison Manager:
Päivi Pietiläinen, Liaison Manager
Tel. +358 40 770 2797, paivi.pietilainen@lappeenranta.fi
Polarnode:
Mikko Toivanen, Chair of the Board, Polarnode Oy
Tel. +358 500 595 471, mikko.toivanen@polarnode.fi
Nebius:
media@nebius.com
