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Bell’s Saskatchewan AI Data Centre Construction Scales Up, but 1.2 GW Is Not Yet Built

By Freedom251 Team · · 4 min read

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Bell’s 300 MW AI data centre near Regina is under construction, with the first data hall targeted to come online in the first half of 2027. A separate September 2026 agreement outlines a conditional route to add as much as 900 MW more. That could bring the planned Saskatchewan hub to 1.2 GW, but the expansion is not a committed construction project.

What is being built near Regina?

The active project is Bell’s original 300 MW data centre in the Rural Municipality of Sherwood, near Regina. Bell announced the facility in March 2026; the company said its physical infrastructure investment would be approximately $1.7 billion, while tenant compute hardware would be funded and supplied by Cerebras and CoreWeave. Bell described CoreWeave compute as hosted on NVIDIA GPUs. Bell’s March announcement identifies the project partners and funding distinction.

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How far along is construction?

In an update dated October 1, 2026, the Government of Saskatchewan reported that more than 500 people were working at the site and more than 30 local firms were supporting the project. Structural steel was rising, all four buildings in the first phase were taking shape, and crews were preparing for interior fit-out of the first building. Bell’s first data hall remained on track to come online in the first half of 2027. The provincial update is the latest published construction snapshot reflected here.

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The government said the vast majority of the workforce was from Saskatchewan. The work includes structural steel milled in Regina and manufacturing by Prairie Steel in Clavet. Businesses associated with George Gordon Developments were providing fencing, security, fuel, logistics, hydrovac and other site-support services.

What does the proposed 900 MW addition change?

On September 14, 2026, Bell and Saskatchewan announced a non-binding memorandum of understanding for phased development of up to 900 MW in additional capacity. If realized, that would put the hub’s potential total at 1.2 GW: the 300 MW facility under construction plus as much as 900 MW more. It does not mean that 1.2 GW is already being built or fully approved. Bell’s announcement and the provincial announcement describe the proposed phased expansion.

Bell and the province say expansion phases would depend on customer commitments and would require commercial agreements, permits, approvals and relevant environmental assessments. Saskatchewan says municipal permitting processes apply, and projects meeting the applicable definition may also require an Environmental Impact Assessment. The MOU establishes a development pathway, not a guarantee that every proposed phase will proceed.

Project element Status and scale Power approach
Original Sherwood facility 300 MW; under construction, with first data hall targeted for first-half 2027, according to Bell and Saskatchewan’s March and October 2026 updates. 300 MW from the provincial grid, as described in the September 2026 expansion announcement.
Additional capacity Up to 900 MW; phased, non-binding pathway dependent on customer commitments and commercial and regulatory conditions, announced September 2026. Bell says the additional capacity would be supplied by partner-developed natural gas generation.
Potential hub total Up to 1.2 GW, if the proposed additional capacity is realized; not the amount currently under construction. A combined plan, not an independently verified operating outcome.

How would the expansion be powered and cooled?

The expansion announcement says the original 300 MW would remain sourced from the provincial grid, while Bell would provide additional capacity under Saskatchewan’s Bring Your Own Power principle. Bell says partner-developed natural gas generation would supply the proposed added capacity. These are announced plans; the announcement does not establish that the generation has been built or is operating.

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Bell also says proposed facilities would use closed-loop cooling that requires no municipal water. That is the company’s stated design approach, not a published, independently measured project-specific environmental result. The sources cited here do not provide an independently measured environmental impact statistic for this project.

Who is delivering the project?

Bird Construction is Bell’s lead construction partner. Alton Tangedal Architect Ltd. is Architect of Record, and George Gordon Developments Ltd. is engaged to pursue business opportunities, beginning with site services. Bell’s early-phase contractor list also included Hipperson Construction, Maxie’s Excavating, Behlen Industries, Soletanche Bachy Canada, Ardel Steel, Amrize and Red Pelican. Bell’s September update names the delivery partners.

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How should the investment and jobs figures be read?

Published economic and employment figures are estimates, not audited outcomes, and the initial project and potential full-buildout figures cover different scopes. They should not be added together or treated as results already achieved.

  • Initial 300 MW facility: Saskatchewan’s March 2026 announcement estimated up to $12 billion in economic value, more than 800 construction jobs, at least 80 operating jobs and about 750 spin-off jobs. These are estimates for the initial project. The provincial announcement sets out those projections.
  • Potential full buildout: Bell and Saskatchewan’s October 2026 update estimated 800 to 1,200 construction, engineering and technical jobs; up to 500 permanent operations jobs; up to 100 Regina management positions; and as many as 3,000 additional off-site and community jobs. The same update cited more than $50 billion in potential associated capital investment across data-centre infrastructure, customer compute hardware and related power generation, contingent on full realization.

The approximately $1.7 billion figure Bell announced in March refers to its physical facility investment; tenant compute hardware is funded and supplied by Cerebras and CoreWeave. It is distinct from the October estimate of more than $50 billion for potential associated investment across a much broader, conditional full buildout.

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AI data centresBellBird Constructiondata centre constructionReginaSaskatchewan

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