The logo of TikTok is displayed on the screen of a smartphone in front of a TV screen displaying the TikTok logo. Photo: VCG

By Brasil 247 - The TikTok data center project underway in Ceará is poised to reposition Brazil in the global digital services landscape. According to a report by Folha de S.Paulo, Rodrigo Abreu - CEO of Omnia, the data center division of Pátria Investimentos and partner in the initiative - said the first unit alone is expected to generate $3 billion per year in exports. 

The Chinese technology giant ByteDance, owner of TikTok, has confirmed its participation and received authorization from the government of President Lula to build and operate five identical units in the Pecém Port complex, in the metropolitan region of Fortaleza. According to Brazil's Ministry of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services (Mdic), the full complex could reach $14.8 billion in annual exports, helping reduce Brazil's current deficit in digital services.

Investment scale and the largest single data center structure in Latin America

TikTok has announced an initial investment of $37 billion for the construction of the first unit, including $20 billion allocated to the acquisition of advanced computing systems. 

Abreu emphasized that the site will become the largest individual data center installation in Latin America. The complex will consist of two buildings, each larger than 70,000 square meters and equipped with an installed capacity of 200 megawatts — equivalent to the energy consumption of 2.1 million Brazilians. He said: "They are two buildings with more than 70,000 square meters each, at a level of sophistication that will guarantee us work for a long time."

AI-ready infrastructure and low-water-impact cooling

Although TikTok has not confirmed whether the site will be used to develop artificial intelligence models, Abreu stated that the infrastructure is being designed for liquid cooling systems compatible with high-density AI computing. He said: "It is a very flexible data center, capable of accommodating practically any type of workload."

In response to environmental concerns raised by Indigenous communities and civil society groups, he stressed that the cooling system will operate in a closed-loop configuration to drastically reduce water consumption. According to Abreu: "We are working with a closed-loop cooling technology that consumes, on a daily basis, an amount of water equivalent to just a few households."

Partnerships and the rise of Pecém as an energy-intensive hub

The project began in 2024 through a partnership with Casa dos Ventos, which contributed expertise from licensing large-scale green hydrogen plants to support the complex's electrical interconnections. Abreu stated: "Pecém will become an energy-intensive hub, with capacity for up to two gigawatts of projects in the area."

Omnia is also developing a national land bank - a portfolio of areas with strong energy and connectivity potential - to attract new data center investments. 

The Pecém project strengthens Brazil's position as a strategic destination for advanced digital infrastructure at a moment when global demand for AI-ready computing continues to grow.

(Reported by Brasil 247 on December 7, 2025)