A Connecticut-based data center developer is making a major bet on Arkansas, announcing plans for a multibillion-dollar digital infrastructure campus that could become one of the largest investments in the state’s history.
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AVAIO Digital revealed plans to invest $6 billion in the first phase of a data center hub on a 760-acre site in Little Rock, Arkansas, with the potential to scale the project to as much as $21 billion at full buildout. The development will be located in Pulaski County and is expected to support rapidly growing demand for data processing and AI-driven workloads.
According to the company, site selection was driven by the availability of strong power interconnection capabilities, extensive onsite natural gas infrastructure and sufficient land to accommodate large-scale development. The project represents the largest economic investment ever announced in Arkansas, according to a statement posted by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders on X.
“Just last year, Arkansas led the way and passed legislation that reduced the regulatory timeline for new energy projects by more than half and offered new incentives to data center investments,” Gov. Sanders said in the release. “This announcement confirms that cutting red tape and cultivating a pro-business, pro-growth environment is not only appealing to companies, it is what makes Arkansas one of the best states to live and work.”
AVAIO expects the data center campus to require up to 1 gigawatt of power once fully built out. The company is currently contracted with Entergy Arkansas for an initial 150 megawatts, which will support the first phase of development while additional capacity is planned over time.
The scale of the project reflects the surging energy demands associated with hyperscale data centers, cloud computing and artificial intelligence applications, which are driving increased competition among states to attract digital infrastructure investment.
The campus is being designed with a range of sustainability-focused features intended to reduce resource consumption and operational costs. Planned elements include water-efficient cooling technologies, rainwater recapture systems, rooftop solar generation and advanced cooling-system economization aimed at lowering overall power demand.
AVAIO said these features are intended to balance large-scale computing needs with environmental efficiency as the facility expands.
Construction on the first phase of the data center hub is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2026, with completion targeted for June 2027. Additional phases would follow as demand grows and infrastructure capacity expands.
The investment is expected to generate significant construction activity, long-term operations jobs and supporting economic development across central Arkansas, reinforcing the state’s push to position itself as a hub for next-generation energy and technology projects.
Originally reported by Sebastian Obando, Reporter in Construction Dive.
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