A Melita project that is expected to go live in early 2015 is set to nearly double Malta's data centre capacity and increase the company's own data colocation services tenfold.

The company provided details of the project during a visit to its Madliena premises by Economy Minister Chris Cardona.

Colocation centres provide retail customers with the opportunity to rent data storage and bandwidth. Such services are increasingly in demand, particularly for companies whose business is internet-related.

Melita inaugurated its first data centre only a year ago, but this centre's capacity was sold out within a few months, confirming the high demand for such services. The new data centre will be hosted in an adjacent structure that is presently under construction.

The company is emphasising that its investment will prove to be greatly beneficial to the national economy, in light of the dependence of various sectors - including financial services and online gaming - on data centre services.

"Our investments are enabling Malta to attract more foreign direct investment into the country, to create new smart jobs and to present itself as an ideal location for global businesses to prosper," CEO Andrei Torriani said.

Chief operating officer, Ludolf Rasterhoff, explained that the company is already marketing the new data centre internationally, and said that international companies have expressed their interest. A number of these are even considering relocating to Malta as a result, he added.

Mr Torriani also observed that the new data centre is part of a €60 million investment the company has been rolling out over a 5-year period. He pointed out that the company has also invested strongly in its telecom infrastructure, including a submarine fibre cable to mainland Europe and international data links to leading internet providers in Milan and in Northern Europe, specifically to assist locally-based companies doing business with Scandinavian countries.