KT Cloud will build a 50MW data center in the Cheongna district of Incheon, greater Seoul, with construction starting in Q4 of this year and completion targeted for Q1 2030. The company acts as design, build, and operate (DBO) partner on the project, the Seoul Economic Daily reports.

The facility will span two basement levels and 11 above-ground floors. As DBO partner, KT Cloud will run the data center and oversee its development end to end, including design, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing works, and commissioning.

Hyundai Engineering serves as joint contractor and will handle architectural, civil, equipment, landscaping, and telecommunications works.

How will the facility handle AI workloads?

The data center will support both AI infrastructure and cloud workloads. It will include a dedicated "AI zone" equipped with direct-to-chip liquid cooling, physically separated from the "cloud zone."

KT Cloud said it will link the site to its other facilities in the region to meet customer expansion requirements and improve network continuity.

"We expect the Cheongna AI data center to serve as a key hub in the western cluster of the capital region and to respond effectively to demand from domestic and overseas corporate customers that require large-scale AI infrastructure," KT Cloud CEO Kim Bong-kyun said.

What is KT Cloud's capacity target?

The Cheongna project anchors a significantly expanded capacity goal. KT Cloud now targets 1GW of data center capacity by 2031, up from its previously stated aim of 320MW by 2030.

"We will continue to expand our AI data center supply base both inside and outside the capital region, and give concrete shape to our 1GW AI data center goal based on differentiated technological capabilities," Kim said.

The company's existing portfolio includes:

• a 10MW data center in Yecheon-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do
• a 26MW data center in Seoul's Geumcheon District
• a 30MW data center in Dae Bong Dong

Datacenters.com lists 16 KT Cloud data centers across Korea.