Gangwon Moves Into Execution Stage to Attract AIDC, As Investment, Organization, and Power Grid Are Sequentially Reworked
TECHWORLD ·
✦ AI Summary
Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province is establishing a power supply system and reorganizing its dedicated organization to attract AI data centers (AIDC).
Gangwon Province and Korea Electric Power Corporation signed a memorandum of understanding at the provincial government on the 9th for stable power supply and expansion of the power grid for the Gangwon AI data center.
Gangwon Province is also expanding the scope of AIDC attraction by continuing additional investment talks with KT and Shinsegae Group.
Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province is strengthening the foundation for its project push by establishing a power supply system for attracting AI data centers (AIDC) and reorganizing its dedicated AIDC task force. It has also been in additional investment talks with KT and Shinsegae Group, while seeking to expand the scope of AIDC attraction in the province.
Against this backdrop, Gangwon Province and Korea Electric Power Corporation signed a memorandum of understanding at the provincial government on the 9th to secure stable power supply for the Gangwon AI data center and expand the power grid. The two sides agreed to cooperate on building power infrastructure in a timely manner to match expanded data center investment, and on establishing a stable power supply system.
Under the division of roles, Gangwon Province will support the permits and approvals needed for power grid construction, help coordinate with relevant institutions, and support efforts to secure local acceptance. Korea Electric Power Corporation will review the power system conditions in the Gangwon region, push forward power supply measures to meet data center demand, and promote expansion of the power grid.
Power is considered a key condition that determines when a large-scale AIDC project can move forward. Because it takes a considerable amount of time to build transmission and substation facilities and connect them to the grid, aligning investment plans with the power supply schedule is necessary, and the power agreement with Korea Electric Power Corporation is linked to securing the foundation for AIDC execution.
Gangwon Province is pursuing cooperation with Korea Electric Power Corporation on power grid construction alongside efforts to attract companies. This reflects the judgment that, in order to turn investment intent into actual groundbreakings, power must be supplied when companies need it.
Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province Governor Woo Sang-ho said that securing a fast and stable power grid is essential to attracting AI data centers. He also said the province will step up administrative support, including permits and communication with residents, to expand power infrastructure in a timely manner.
Governor Woo Sang-ho also expressed his determination to develop Gangwon into a hub for the AI industry. Gangwon Province plans to preemptively reinforce the regional power grid in response to expanding data center investment.
In addition, Gangwon Province proposed a plan to link AIDC with a 'local production, local consumption' power system, in which electricity generated in the region is consumed in the region. Through this, it plans to secure conditions for additional investment alongside expanded data center investment.
Ahead of the power grid agreement, Gangwon Province reorganized its administrative support system. On the 8th, it announced its first organizational restructuring plan under the 9th popularly elected administration and began overhauling its organizational structure to strengthen AIDC support functions.
Under the plan, the AI Data Center Promotion Team, which had been operating as a TF, will be converted into a formal division-level organization. Ahead of the power grid agreement, Gangwon Province focused first on reshaping the organizational framework so that related support functions could be operated more stably.
The AI Data Center Promotion Team is responsible for attracting data center investment, coordinating infrastructure, attracting related companies, and building the industrial ecosystem. The goal is to shift from a system in which AIDC-related work was dispersed across multiple departments to one centered on a dedicated organization, thereby improving responsiveness from investment talks to commercialization.
Governor Woo said the purpose of the reorganization is to create results that residents can feel. He added that it is meaningful because it is about building an organization that can carry out Gangwon's key future projects.
Gangwon Province is continuing investment talks with companies alongside the organizational restructuring. At a press briefing at the provincial government on the 7th, Governor Woo said discussions with KT are under way regarding the construction of an AI data center in Wonju.
Governor Woo also disclosed that Shinsegae Group is considering an investment in the complex convergence cluster for hydrothermal energy in Chuncheon. Gangwon Province is expanding the scope of its investment attraction efforts through additional talks involving KT and Shinsegae Group.
Gangwon Province's AIDC attraction projects remain in the pre-final-investment stage for both projects, but as additional corporate investment discussions are added to the existing AIDC projects under way, the province's data center attraction scope is expanding.
Accordingly, Gangwon Province has set a policy of jointly reviewing infrastructure issues such as power, water, and permits from the investment discussion stage, and it is pushing ahead with a reorganization of the dedicated task force. It has also signed the agreement with Korea Electric Power Corporation, and the focus of both the reorganization and the agreement is on building a support system that connects investment attraction to actual project execution.
Governor Woo said the purpose of these measures is not limited to attracting data centers themselves. He explained that the goal is to build cooperative relationships among small and midsize companies in the Gangwon region and to create a new industrial ecosystem.
The success of Gangwon's AIDC attraction strategy will depend on whether investment discussions with KT and Shinsegae Group actually lead to projects and on how specifically the power supply plan is defined. The final question is whether AIDC infrastructure will be linked with the regional AX centered on medical care and wellness, and whether that will drive regional industrial growth.
Source: TECHWORLD · Kim Seung-gi
Original: https://www.epnc.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=406800
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Source: TECHWORLD
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