[Cortesy of SK ecoplant]
SK ecoplant and Digital Edge launched a joint venture after signing a business agreement to jointly develop a hyperscale data center in a state industrial complex in Bupyeong west of Seoul. The two companies will establish a special purpose corporation for the development of two data center buildings with an injection of more than one trillion won ($801 million). Construction of the first building is to begin in 2022 for completion in 2024.
A data center is a dedicated space or building that houses an organization's IT equipment and servers. A hyperscale data center refers to a facility for cloud computing and big data storage that has at least 500 storage cabinets with more than 5,000 servers connected with an ultra-high-speed optical fiber network.
SK ecoplant is in charge of business development as well as engineering, procurement and construction (EPC). "We will successfully complete the construction of the nation's largest commercial data center while maintaining continuous cooperation with Digital Edge to expand our digital center business," Song Youg-kyu, head of SK ecoplant's ecospace business unit, said in a statement on April 25.
Digital Edge CEO Samuel Lee said that SK ecoplant's development know-how would be combined with Digital Edge's operation experience to provide a next-generation digital infrastructure service, describing South Korea as one of the fastest-growing data center markets in the world.
In April 2021, Digital Edge forged a strategic partnership with Sejong Telecom, a telecom service provider in South Korea, to bring innovative products and services that would meet the expectations of domestic and international customers. Digital Edge agreed to acquire a data center in southern Seoul, and a cable landing station facility in the southern port city of Busan.
A steady increase in traffic generated by internet and smartphone users watching high-definition video content prompted service operators, internet companies and mobile carriers to build data centers. Companies in South Korea are in need of digital infrastructure thanks to rapid digital transformation.
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