Keppel Ltd. has announced its first foray into South Korea's data center market, with its private fund Keppel Data Center Fund III securing land to develop a 60-megawatt greenfield facility in Ansan, located within the Seoul Metropolitan Area.

The project marks a significant geographic expansion for the Singapore-headquartered asset manager and operator, which already manages a portfolio of 39 data centers with a combined gross power capacity of more than 800 megawatts.

Structure of the Deal

Through the transaction, KDCF III will acquire an approximately 73% effective stake in a special purpose vehicle that owns the land. The remaining 27% stake is held by a consortium of South Korean firms: Shinyoung, described as a leading Korean developer; NH Securities, a leading securities firm; and Hyundai E&C, a leading construction company.

The project represents the second investment made by KDCF III, whose funds under management had grown to approximately USD 2.7 billion as of the end of 2025. Keppel's total funds under management under its Connectivity division, which includes KDCF III, stood at approximately USD 13 billion at the same date.

The planned facility has already secured construction permits and power approvals for the site. It is targeted to be ready for service by 2030 and is envisioned to be built to Tier III-equivalent specifications. Keppel describes it as an AI-ready facility designed to serve hyperscalers, cloud service providers, and corporate clients.

Why South Korea, and Why Now

Keppel's entry into South Korea comes against a backdrop of rapidly expanding demand for data center capacity in the Seoul Metropolitan Area and a market environment that has become increasingly constrained on the supply side.

New data center power demand in the SMA is projected to reach approximately 2.3 gigawatts through 2030, driven by international cloud service providers and leading domestic technology firms.

That demand surge is being fuelled by cloud migration, artificial intelligence adoption, and South Korea's stated national ambition to position itself as a global AI powerhouse.

At the same time, the supply of new data centers in the SMA has been significantly curtailed. Recent regulatory measures have restricted power supply applications for projects exceeding 10 megawatts, sharply narrowing the development pipeline.

The result is a market recording a vacancy rate of just 1.4%, according to data from JLL dated March 2026. The entire 2025 to 2027 supply pipeline for the SMA is already fully pre-leased, according to the announcement.

Keppel's Chief Investment Officer for Data Centers, Lee Hui Fang, pointed to the intersection of surging AI-driven demand and power scarcity as the central rationale for entering the market at this point.

"The convergence of burgeoning AI workloads and a power-constrained market in SMA creates a compelling entry point for Keppel," she said. "By securing scarce power in a shovel-ready site, we are building on our deep capabilities in data center fund management and development to capture the full upside of Korea's digital transformation to offer our investors compelling investment opportunities with attractive, risk-adjusted returns."

Positioning Within Keppel's Broader Strategy

The South Korea project extends Keppel's footprint in the Asia Pacific data center sector and adds to an existing portfolio built around serving large-scale cloud and hyperscaler customers.

Manjot Singh Mann, CEO of the Connectivity Division at Keppel, cited the company's track record in developing and operating data centers for hyperscalers across Asia Pacific and Europe as a foundation for the Korean venture.

"South Korea represents a compelling growth market for digital infrastructure, underpinned by strong demand from cloud service providers and hyperscalers, alongside limited new supply in the SMA," he said.

The Ansan site sits within the Seoul Metropolitan Area, placing it in close proximity to South Korea's primary economic and technology hub. The facility's AI-ready design and Tier III-equivalent build specification are intended to meet the requirements of large enterprise and hyperscale tenants demanding high availability and resilience.

Fund Growth and Market Context

KDCF III's growth to USD 2.7 billion in funds under management reflects broader investor appetite for data center assets across Asia. The South Korea transaction is only the fund's second investment, suggesting significant dry powder remains to be deployed.

Keppel's Connectivity division, which manages KDCF III alongside other data center vehicles, oversees approximately USD 13 billion in total funds under management.

The Ansan project will, once completed, add to the 39 data centers already in Keppel's portfolio, which collectively represent more than 800 megawatts of gross power capacity, including projects currently under development as of the end of 2025.

Keppel noted that the transaction is not expected to have any material impact on the net tangible asset per share or earnings per share of Keppel Ltd. for the current financial year.

South Korea's Data Center Boom Is Moving Fast, Is Your Pipeline Keeping Up?

Every quarter, dozens of hyperscale facilities, colocation campuses, and edge computing installations break ground across South Korea, reshaping the digital infrastructure landscape at a pace that leaves many market participants scrambling for reliable intelligence. The organizations that win contracts, forge partnerships, and secure favorable positions are those with early visibility, not those reacting after announcements are already public.

Blackridge Research built the Global Project Tracking (GPT) platform by Blackridge Research specifically to close that gap. By consolidating project intelligence from across the South Korea data center sector into a single, continuously updated environment, it gives developers, contractors, equipment suppliers, and investors the structured foresight needed to act with confidence rather than guesswork.

From Singapore's land-constrained hyperscale corridors to emerging markets in Southeast Asia, India, and beyond, the GPT platform captures the full development lifecycle across every major South Korea market, so your business development team is always working from a complete picture.

• Upcoming Projects

• Tender Notices

• Contract Awards

• Projects Under Construction

• Completed Projects

See how the Global Project Tracking (GPT) platform by Blackridge Research can sharpen your strategy across South Korea's data center sector. Book a Free Demo with our team today.