Closed at 5 p.m. on the 30th...
No Bidders for the Tender
The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on May 30 that the public tender for private sector participation in the "National AI Computing Center Construction" project, which closed at 5:00 p.m. on the same day, failed to attract any bidders. As a result, the ministry plans to reissue the tender with the same requirements, in accordance with the National Contract Act, for a period of at least ten days starting from June 2.
This project aims to establish an AI-dedicated data center in a non-metropolitan area through a public-private joint investment of up to 2.5 trillion won. A special purpose company (SPC) will be formed with a shareholding structure of 51% public and 49% private. The center is expected to secure AI computing power of at least 1 exaflops (EF) by 2030 and increase the proportion of domestically produced AI semiconductors to 50%.
The National AI Computing Center is a key infrastructure for fostering the domestic AI research and development environment and nurturing the AI computing ecosystem. The government plans to secure 10,000 state-of-the-art GPUs within this year and open the center as early as possible. Since the failure of this tender could disrupt the government's strategy to strengthen the competitiveness of the domestic AI industry, the successful selection of a project operator through the reissued tender is now a critical task.
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