KT Cloud, the cloud and data-centre arm of the Korean telecoms group KT, said on 7 October that it and Hyundai Engineering will build a 50 MW data centre for artificial intelligence (AI) work at Cheongna, Incheon1. Construction is due to start in the fourth quarter of 2026, with completion in the first quarter of 2030. Incheon sits inside the Seoul capital region, outside the areas where South Korea's August proposal for regional power prices would cut rates to draw data centres away from the capital.
18OCT
KT Cloud plans 50 MW AI site in Incheon
2 min read
13:11UTC
KT Cloud said on 7 October that it and Hyundai Engineering will build a 50 MW AI data centre at Cheongna in Incheon, due for completion in early 2030.
IndustryDeveloping
Key takeaway
KT Cloud and Hyundai Engineering will build a 50 MW AI data centre in Incheon by 2030.
Deep Analysis
In plain English
KT Cloud is the cloud-computing arm of KT, one of South Korea's largest telecom companies. With the builder Hyundai Engineering, it plans a data centre for artificial intelligence at Cheongna, a district of the port city of Incheon near Seoul. It will use 50 megawatts of electricity. Construction starts at the end of 2026 and should finish in early 2030.
Root Causes
Most of South Korea's power is generated along the coasts and in the south, while demand concentrates around Seoul. Transmission lines into the capital region face local opposition and long build times, so each large load there competes for scarce import capacity.
KEPCO's single national tariff long hid that geography from users. Regional pricing and grid impact assessments are the first tools that make a capital-region site cost more than a southern one.
What could happen next?
- Risk
A capital-region AI site may face grid impact assessment conditions or higher regional power prices once pricing zones take effect.
- Meaning
Telecom-led operators continue to favour the capital region despite policy pressure to build elsewhere.
Sources:MTN (Money Today Network)
First Reported In
Update #16 · Malaysia bills data centres for idle grid
MTN (Money Today Network)· 18 Oct 2026
Read original →Different Perspectives
Nexus Core Systems
Hired FiveNines Group, in a deal announced on 8 October, for early design, feasibility and permit work on a 20 MW AI data centre near Casablanca. It is the first named site of a planned 180 MW programme, still at concept design.
MC Digital Realty
Began building the 24 MW KIX15 data centre in Osaka Prefecture on 7 October, due to open in the fourth quarter of 2028. The joint venture of Digital Realty and Mitsubishi Corporation says it will then run 10 data centres in Japan with about 220 MW of IT capacity.
KT Cloud
Said on 7 October that it and Hyundai Engineering will build a 50 MW AI data centre at Cheongna, Incheon, from the fourth quarter of 2026. Completion is due in the first quarter of 2030, part of KT Cloud's target of more than 1 GW of AI capacity by 2031.
Town of Trebbin
Said on 7 October that work has begun on two data-centre buildings and a substation under building permits already granted. The operating permit under the Federal Immission Control Act is still with Brandenburg's environment agency, so the town postponed its public presentation.
Óscar López, Digital Transformation minister
Said in Madrid on 8 October that he hopes to approve the data-centre royal decree shortly, with urgent processing to reach the cabinet before the 29 November election. He said the final text will take the more than 600 submissions into account, without saying what changes.
Hydro-Québec
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Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Editorial standards.