'AI Forward Base' Jangseong Data Center Accelerates... Exempted from Local Fiscal Investment Review

Announcement of Rapid Implementation Plan for the Seventh Project
Application of 'Exemption Track (Fast-Track)' to Local Fiscal Investment Review

The government is launching 'fast-track' support to exempt the local fiscal investment review process, accelerating the construction of the Advanced Data Center project currently being developed in Jangseong County, Jeollanam-do.

Perspective view of the advanced data center project in Jangseong, Jeollanam-do. Ministry of Planning and Budget.

On June 5, the Ministry of Planning and Budget and related ministries announced a rapid implementation plan for the seventh project of the 'Regional Revitalization Investment Fund' at an emergency economic headquarters meeting and an economic ministers' meeting presided over by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Koo Yooncheol.

According to the plan, a 'track exemption' will be introduced for the local fiscal investment review by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, which was an essential prerequisite for the special purpose company (SPC) investment in the Jangseong County project. The local fiscal investment review is a system that assesses the necessity and feasibility of projects before budget allocation, aiming to ensure the planned and efficient use of local government budgets and to prevent indiscriminate overlapping investments in various projects.

This measure was implemented because the deadline for Jangseong County's capital contribution is approaching. Under the shareholder agreement and loan contract, Jangseong County must make a timely contribution of 8 billion won to the SPC by early February 2027. With the government significantly streamlining administrative procedures, Jangseong County can now secure the investment budget more quickly. The data center is aiming for rapid progress, targeting the start of full operations in March 2028 after completion in December 2027 and a three-month stabilization period.

The seventh project, which has gained significant momentum thanks to the fast-track measures, is the 'Jangseong Advanced Data Center Project in Jeollanam-do,' which involves constructing and operating a large-scale data center in the Gwangju R&D Special Zone (Samtae-ri area, Nam-myeon, Jangseong County, within Advanced Zone 3, covering approximately 9,705 pyeong). This is a large-scale project with a total budget of 395.9 billion won (100 billion won capital, 295.9 billion won in loans). Jeollanam-do Province (4.8 billion won) and Jangseong County (3.2 billion won) will jointly contribute a total of 8 billion won in capital.

The Jangseong Data Center project was selected as an investment target by Korea Growth Investment Corporation, the master fund manager, in November last year, followed by a project financing (PF) loan agreement in December, and broke ground in February this year. As of the end of April this year, the construction progress rate was 9.21%, indicating steady advancement. The data center will be operated as a rental facility for cloud service providers and others, with plans to expand its power capacity up to 60 MW, aiming to develop it into a key regional base for artificial intelligence (AI).

A government official stated, "By supporting the timely establishment of core AI infrastructure, we will firmly lay the foundation for the AI transformation of regional industries and the attraction of high-tech companies. We aim to make this project a successful catalyst for regional economic revitalization by mitigating the concentration of data centers in the Seoul metropolitan area, with an estimated production inducement effect of about 800 billion won and the creation of up to 3,000 jobs."

Meanwhile, the Regional Revitalization Investment Fund, introduced in 2024, is a large-scale regional investment model that uses the government’s master fund as a catalyst to attract private capital, achieving a '10x leverage' effect. It utilizes a project financing (PF) approach. A total of eight projects from various regions and sectors have been selected, with an estimated total scale of 3.6 trillion won.

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