Construction on a long-delayed hyperscale data center in Gurae-dong, Gimpo-si, Gyeonggi Province is now officially underway. DL E&C confirmed it has signed a 361.65 billion KRW ($280 million USD) contract to build the ‘ICN11 Data Center’ for Digital Realty Trust, one of the world’s largest data center operators.

After securing building permits back in 2021, the project faced a four-year hold-up due to strong local opposition over environmental and safety concerns. With all approvals now cleared, DL E&C will break ground on May 25, 2025, aiming for completion by October 24, 2027.

The ICN11 facility will rise on a 19,686㎡ site with four underground and eight above-ground floors, totaling about 95,490㎡ (1,028,000 sq ft) of gross floor area. The center’s planned electrical capacity is 80MW, including 64MW for IT systems, allowing it to house at least 100,000 servers—a clear marker of its hyperscale status.

Through ICN11, Digital Realty plans to offer dedicated hyperscale space to major global cloud service providers (CSPs) such as AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud. It will also provide co-location services for domestic and international IT firms.

The new facility will be connected via optical fiber to Digital Realty’s existing ICN10 site, Digital Seoul 1, in Sangam-dong, Mapo-gu—forming a robust Seoul-area cloud and network hub for more than 1,500 global clients. The ICN11 facility will rise on a 19,686㎡ site with four underground and eight above-ground floors, totaling about 95,490㎡ (1,028,000 sq ft) of gross floor area.

The project’s delay stemmed from local residents near Gimpo Hangang New Town who objected to the extra-high voltage (154kV) lines needed to power the center, citing health and environmental risks, as well as concerns over electromagnetic radiation, noise, heat, and the area’s skyline.

Although Gimpo-si initially rejected the construction commencement report in March 2024, Digital Realty filed an administrative appeal and won. The Gyeonggi Provincial Administrative Appeals Commission ruled the rejection unlawful last October, forcing the city to accept the report by November 17, 2024.

South Korea’s Digital Infrastructure Push

An industry source noted, “As demand for AI and internet-based services soars, this hyperscale project is crucial to strengthening Korea’s digital backbone in the Seoul Capital Area.”

This article was originally published by Corebeat on May 14, 2025.