Hyundai E&C races to build Korea's 1st AI-dedicated data center in record time

Hyundai Engineering & Construction began construction on Korea's first AI-dedicated data center in Pohang's Gwangmyeong general industrial complex, targeting completion in a record 16.5 months with operations set for the second half of 2027. The 40-megawatt facility, built under a main contract with AI Factory Pohang PFV, will run on Nvidia GPUs with liquid cooling — a first for a Korean data center — and is designed for roughly 10 times the power density of a typical cloud data center to accommodate Nvidia's upcoming "Vera Rubin" AI chips.

Hyundai Engineering & Construction E&C has begun construction on Korea's first data center built exclusively for artificial intelligence AI workloads, the company said Monday, aiming to finish the project in a record 16.5 months. Hyundai E&C signed the main contract with AI Factory Pohang PFV, the project's special-purpose vehicle, and has started installing precast concrete — factory-made concrete components assembled on site, rather than poured in place — for the facility in Pohang's Gwangmyeong general industrial complex. Construction began in June, with operations targeted for the second half of 2027. The 40-megawatt facility will run on Nvidia graphics processing units GPUs and use liquid cooling, a system that circulates coolant directly to chips rather than relying on airflow, to handle the intense heat generated by AI servers — a first for a Korean data center, the company said. It is designed to run at roughly 10 times the power density of a typical cloud data center to accommodate Nvidia's upcoming "Vera Rubin" AI chips, with a power usage effectiveness rating —