Digital Edge, Keppel Add 120MW to Greater Seoul Data Centre Race 

Singapore-based Keppel and Digital Edge each announced data centre project acquisitions in the South Korean city of Ansan on consecutive days this week, adding a combined 120 megawatts of planned capacity to one of Greater Seoul’s most active digital infrastructure hubs.

Digital Edge, backed by US alternative investment firm Stonepeak, announced on Monday that it has acquired a fully powered land parcel in Ansan’s Sihwa National Industrial Complex to develop a 60MW facility as its fifth Korean project.

That announcement came one day before Singapore’s Keppel Ltd said that it has acquired a 73 percent effective stake in a project developing the 60MW Ansan Global Meta Data Centre, making its first investment in South Korea and the first for its Keppel Data Centre Fund III vehicle.

The pair of project acquisitions come as data centre end users face a vacancy rate of just 1.4 percent in the Seoul Metropolitan Area, according to Keppel, with the entire 2025–27 supply pipeline already fully pre-leased. 

“South Korea is one of Asia’s most exciting data centre investment markets,” said Lee Hui Fang, chief investment officer for data centres at Keppel. “The convergence of burgeoning AI workloads and a power-constrained market in [Greater Seoul] creates a compelling entry point for Keppel.”

Adding a Third Seoul Project

Digital Edge plans to develop its site in Seonggok-dong, Danwon-gu, within the Sihwa National Industrial Complex into SEL5, its third Seoul area project, with the company also having facilities in Incheon and Busan.

Located in a government-designated industrial zone on the western edge of Ansan,  the site carries a 90 MVA power agreement that Digital Edge described as among the largest in Ansan, and will feature a dual-feed power architecture supported by two independent 154-kilovolt substations, the company said. 

Cooling infrastructure incorporating a chiller plant with integrated free cooling is expected to deliver an annualised power usage effectiveness below 1.25.

Korea Investment Real Asset Management, which had competed to acquire the site, has joined the project as co-developer, according to Korean media. With 52MW of facilities currently operating, the Ansan acquisition brings Digital Edge’s pipeline in the country to 120MW. 

“With SEL5, we have secured large-scale power in a highly constrained market and paired it with a resilient, scalable site capable of supporting next-generation hyperscale deployments,” said John Freeman, chief executive officer of Digital Edge.

Keppel Enters South Korea 

Keppel’s investment gives it control of a project developing the Ansan Global Meta Data Centre at 726-4 Wonsi-dong in Ansan’s Banwol National Industrial Complex — across town from Digital Edge’s Sihwa site. 

Shinyoung Group, the developer that established the project vehicle Daol Data Center No. 1 PFV in 2022, holds the remaining stake alongside financial co-investors.

The project is targeted to enter service by 2030, built to Tier III-equivalent specifications to serve hyperscalers, cloud service providers and corporates, Keppel said. The Temasek Holdings portfolio company did not disclose the acquisition price, but Korean media placed the total project investment at KRW 1 trillion ($659 million).

Shinyoung named the project the Ansan Global Meta Data Centre in a January 2023 regulatory filing, and the consortium has since secured construction permits and power approvals for the site.

“By securing scarce power in a shovel-ready site, we are building on our deep capabilities in data centre fund management and development to capture the full upside of Korea’s digital transformation,” Lee said. In its statement, Keppel pointed to government curbs on power supply applications for projects exceeding 10MW having  significantly curtailed new development in the Greater Seoul area.

The transaction is the second investment for Keppel Data Centre Fund III, which Keppel said it had grown to approximately S$2.7 billion ($2.1 billion) in funds under management by the end of 2025. The company achieved a first close on the fund in April 2025 with $580 million in initial capital commitments, and raised a further $200 million in August.

Ansan as Data Centre Hub

The pair of Ansan deals fit into a growing list of digital infrastructure projects in the Gyeonggi provincial city over the past year, including local tech giant Kakao having opened a data centre near Hanyang University’s Erica campus in September 2023.

In December of that same year Koramco Asset Management and data centre operator DCI broke ground on a project at 712 Seonggok-dong, and Korea Alternative Asset Management (KAAM) is developing a 62.5MW facility at a neighbouring parcel through a partnership with Hyundai Engineering and Construction.

With industry players pointing to government-backed industrial land conversion, and more accessible power than inner Seoul, UK infrastructure investor Actis is developing a 100MW data centre in Ansan’s Seonggok-dong area, according to Korean media. 

Also in the Greater Seoul area, Warburg Pincus secured an 80MW greenfield site in Yongin City last September in partnership with Wide Creek Asset Management and data centre operator DC Connects.