SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE -Information is a powerful tool, but it can be heavy - just ask the GNWT.

The territorial government's data centre, the one-stop location for all the advanced computer programs used by GNWT staff and the nerve centre of the government server, is moving uptown to a new $10 million location.

David Waite, senior projects manager with the GNWT's Department of Public Works and Services, stands near the corner of Old Airport Road and Byrne Road, the spot chosen by the territorial government for a new $10 million data centre due to be completed by Clark Builders in one year. - Guy Quenneville/NNSL photo

The reason? Simply put, the amount of hard drives and computer equipment being housed in the centre's current headquarters - the second floor of the Stuart Hodgson Building on 49 Street - is now so bulky that it can't be contained, according to David Waite, senior projects manager with the Department of Public Works and Services.

"You can only put so much weight on the floor before the floor can't support it and that's what we're facing here. The structural limitations of the building just don't allow us to put any more equipment in," said Waite.

The new two-storey data centre, measuring 16,000 square feet, will be built by Clark Builders near the corner of Old Airport Road and Byrne Road, across from McDonald's and adjacent to the GNWT's records warehouse. Offices for the staff of 19 will be on the second floor, while the equipment will be stored on the ground floor, the latter of which is a crucial component of the building's design, said Waite.

"The building will be able to hold more computer weight," he said.

What typically account for much of the weight are the hard drives which make up a "rack," added Waite.

"In computer terms, a rack is like a pre-manufactured shelf where you slide in your components, almost like if you have a PC on your desk and you put in extra hard drives."

Construction on the centre is scheduled to begin next month and wrap up in a year, said Ken Szarkowicz, project manager for Clark Builders.

At the project's peak, "We expect to take in a crew of between 20 and 30, which would include subcontractors," said Szarkowicz. "If we can start in mid-August, we're hoping to get most of the concrete work done and get the building closed-in prior to the beginning of winter."