Hamyang-gun Successfully Attracts Largest-Ever Investment in 'Data Center'

Hanul HDC MOU Agreement Signed

Expected Employment Creation Effect of 515 People

Hamyang-gun, Gyeongnam Province, has succeeded in attracting investment for a hyperscale (ultra-large) data center worth 1.25 trillion KRW, the largest scale ever.

On the afternoon of the 30th, at the 2023 Gyeongsangnam-do Investment Attraction Roadshow held at the Busan Grand Moment Youth Hostel, Gyeongsangnam-do, Hamyang-gun, and Hanwool HDC signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for attracting hyperscale data center investment.

According to the agreement, the Hamyang data center, involving construction company Hyundai Engineering & Construction, operation company Kyndryl Korea (a spinoff of IBM IT services), investment securities firm Leading Investment & Securities, eco-friendly energy expert Global, and AgUni, will be built on a site area of 181,085㎡, with a building area of approximately 33,000㎡, consisting of 2 basement floors and 4 above-ground floors.

Group photo of the investment attraction agreement ceremony in Hamyang-gun.

The Hamyang data center, with an estimated project cost of 1.25 trillion KRW, will be the largest hyperscale data center in Korea, capable of up to 15,000 racks and 300MW power capacity, provided that power supply is stable.

Data centers are gaining attention as next-generation industrial infrastructure, with rapidly increasing demand for storing and analyzing large-scale big data due to accelerated development of AI autonomous vehicles and OTT services, making them highly valuable investment targets.

However, data centers are increasingly concentrated in the metropolitan area. The government is preparing related legislation to promote relocation to provincial areas, and local governments are actively seeking investment attraction, but companies remain lukewarm about investing outside the metropolitan area. Currently, a representative provincial data center is Naver’s data center in Chuncheon City (40MW, employing 790 people).

Therefore, this data center investment marks a milestone for Hamyang-gun, a transportation hub in the southern inland region, moving beyond a logistics distribution center to laying the foundation for an IT industry cluster.

In particular, this investment is expected to create 515 new jobs, and in the future, employment of IT professionals is anticipated to attract young populations, significantly contributing to revitalizing the local community.

An investor representative mentioned concerns about the shortage of accommodation facilities for construction workers during the construction period, indicating that the project is expected to play a significant role in boosting the local economy.

Jin Byeong-yeong, the county governor, stated, “Attracting a data center, which can be considered the core of the 4th Industrial Revolution, proves that Hamyang-gun is not only a competitive logistics distribution hub but also the optimal location for data center investment.” He added, “We will spare no support and effort to ensure the successful construction of the Hamyang data center.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.