Ulsan to Build 7 Trillion-Won AI Data Center and 500 Billion-Won Underwater Data Center Complex
Spotlight on Ulsan KTX Station Special Zone as a Hub for Advanced Industries Such as Secondary Batteries and R&D
Ulsan Metropolitan City is set to make a full-scale push to foster advanced industries, including the development of an AI-dedicated data center worth 7 trillion won. This initiative aims to move away from the region's traditional focus on manufacturing industries and promote industrial diversification in line with the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The establishment of a large-scale data center is expected to serve as a catalyst for expanding the AI industrial ecosystem. As a result, demand for the clustering of related industries such as R&D, advanced manufacturing, and mobility is also expected to increase.
According to Ulsan City and related officials, the city successfully attracted Amazon Web Services (AWS)'s AI-dedicated data center in June of last year. By 2029, the city plans to create the country's largest data center complex (with a capacity of 100MW) through an investment of approximately 7 trillion won. In addition, a project is underway to invest about 500 billion won to build an underwater data center complex capable of housing 100,000 servers at a depth of 20 meters off the coast of Ulsan. The plan is to naturally cool the heat generated by AI servers using seawater, which is expected to reduce electricity consumption by more than 35% compared to existing data centers.
Ulsan City intends to use this data center development to establish an outpost within the city that will help transform South Korea into a sustainable global AI hub. Through this, the city plans to break away from its manufacturing and heavy industry-centered industrial structure and build an urban industrial ecosystem based on advanced industries, thereby inducing regional industrial diversification tailored to the Fourth Industrial Revolution era.
Amid these developments, the 'New-On City' development project-a mixed-use specialized complex in the Ulsan KTX Station area-is drawing attention as another project that will support the transformation of Ulsan's industrial structure.
New-On City is a large-scale development project led by Ulsan Complex City Development Co., jointly invested by Ulju-gun, Ulsan Metropolitan City, Ulsan Urban Corporation, and Hanwha Solutions. The project will develop approximately 1.53 million square meters in the Sinhwa-ri area of Samnam-eup, Ulju-gun, Ulsan. Strategically located at the junction of KTX Ulsan Station and the Seoul-San IC of the Gyeongbu Expressway, it is expected to serve as a hub connecting the economic zones of Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam, going beyond simple urban development. In particular, with a travel time of just over two hours to Seoul and the Greater Seoul area, the project aims to grow into a multifaceted hub city with ultra-wide-area competitiveness.
The project is also characterized by its structure, which combines industrial complexes with residential, commercial, and office facilities, thereby providing favorable conditions for technology and research personnel to settle. The self-sustaining urban structure integrating industrial and living infrastructure is expected to lay the foundation for attracting AI and advanced industry talent.
New-On City plans to designate 28% of the total site area (about 420,000 square meters) as an industrial complex to attract R&D and advanced industries related to secondary batteries and mobility, as well as to secure a sizable industrial workforce. The project will also attract companies and research institutes in next-generation core industrial fields such as information and communications, biotechnology, and nanotechnology, thereby laying the foundation for the development of the industrial structure.
According to the Ulsan Free Economic Zone Authority, the New-On City development project is expected to generate an economic impact by 2030, including 2.0036 trillion won in production inducement effect, 835.3 billion won in value-added inducement effect, and the creation of 6,662 jobs. This is expected to become a practical growth engine that leads regional development in Ulsan, in line with the city's industrial diversification and population settlement-oriented urban strategy.
Expectations are also high for Ulsan's growth as a smart innovation city leading the future. Previously, Ulsan Complex City Development Co. signed a business agreement with 'Seoul Robotics,' an autonomous driving control technology company, to shape New-On City as a sustainable, future-oriented city. The two parties have discussed the possibility of cooperation across smart infrastructure, including traffic flow management, pedestrian safety, and logistics efficiency throughout the city.
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