Zapala Free Zone to Offer New Opportunities to Bitcoin Miners in Argentina

The Zapala Free Zone, an area located in Neuquen, Argentina that has the objective of incentivizing various productive activities, will receive its first bitcoin mining-related investment this year. The company that will create the power infrastructure for the mining farm aims to generate more than 114 MW of power for mining operations in the first year.

Zapala Free Zone Gets Into Bitcoin Mining

Zapala, a free trade zone in the province of Neuquen in Argentina, will get its first bitcoin mining-related investment. For the year 2023, the zone aims to have an installed capacity of 114 MW that will be used for the transformation of the area into a hub for bitcoin mining. Bitcoin mining in the region is incentivized in that Zapala, being a free zone, doesn’t charge taxes for using public services.

The project, according to a business plan that will be presented to authorities of the province, will contemplate an investment of $20 million, and is expected to be complete for Q1 2023. The managing director of FMI Minecraft, John Blount, stated that this project will be a phased construction that will include “a 100 MW high-density data center for an industrial BTC data processor/miner, expandable to over 1 GW.”

Fernando Montero, CEO of the Zapala Free Zone, explained that for this purpose, the company has to lay more than 100 km of gas pipeline in the first year. Montero also elaborated on the benefits of conducting these projects in the zone, stating that:

The fact of being a Free Zone gives us the benefit of being exempt from taxes for certain projects, which is why it is a very attractive space for investments related to oil & gas, mining, and technology. There is good accessibility and we are in the heart of the province.

Argentina: A Bitcoin Mining Haven

Argentina has been in the sights of Bitcoin miners recently as a place with favorable conditions to conduct their business. Bitfarms, another mining company, is building a large mining center in the country that aims to accommodate 55K Bitcoin miners, with a capacity of 210 MW.

The main selling point of Argentina is the low cost of the power used to mine bitcoin, according to reports. Bitfarms reportedly obtained a price of 2.2 cents per kilowatt hour, described as an “attractive rate” by the CEO of the company, Emiliano Grodzki.