A specially created public-private partnership will oversee the construction of the world’s largest AI data center in South Korea. Work on the $35 billion data center is expected to begin in late 2025. By the time it is completed in 2028, the data center’s capacity should reach 3 GW, Stock Farm Road reported.
This investment company, which signed a memorandum of understanding with the authorities of Jeollanam-do Province, intends to supervise the project; this will be the key to the development of the site.
The facility is expected to feature advanced cooling systems, high regional and international throughput, and the ability to handle significant fluctuations in energy loads. The data center will serve as a foundation for next-generation AI, and will drive innovation and economic growth in the region and beyond.
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Stock Farm Road says this is more than just a technological milestone. It is a strategic step forward, ensuring South Korea’s technological leadership. The initial investment will be $10 billion, rising to $35 billion.
The company already has experience using analytical tools and artificial intelligence to manage energy resources, and also has its own patented platform for the optimal conversion of energy into “intelligent” resources – e2i². The company has already announced that its experience in this area will also be useful in the construction of data centers, and other business units will provide access to capital to finance the construction.
The Jeollanam-do government will support the project by issuing the necessary permits and licenses to begin construction. The project is expected to transform the region. The new data center is not just another infrastructure project, but a launch pad for a new digital industrial revolution.
Stock Farm Road says the new project is a milestone in a wider global strategy that will see the company launch similar deals in Asia, the US and Europe over the next 18 months.
The decision to locate the data center in Jeollanam-do province is in line with the development vector followed by the country’s government, which seeks to develop information technology outside of Seoul and its environs.
The general trend is to decentralize data centers outside of the Greater Seoul area and create “target districts.” However, as consulting firm Cushman & Wakefield reports, this poses challenges due to latency and distance from end users — the capital region’s data centers will still be key players in meeting infrastructure needs.
This is not the only major South Korean project in recent months. In early October 2024, KT Corporation signed a multi-billion dollar deal with Microsoft in the field of AI infrastructure, and in November of the same year, it was reported that KIOST would build an underwater data center with tens of thousands of servers off the coast of South Korea.