A syndicated loan has been obtained by Empyrion DC, a portfolio business of Seraya Partners, from KEB Hana Bank, Hana Capital Co Ltd, and the National Credit Union Federation of Korea to fund the development of the Gangnam Data Centre (GDC) in Seoul, South Korea. The funding from the loan will be used to pay for additional capital expenses for the construction of the building's core and shell and the setting up of its mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems. The second data center project for Empyrion DC, GDC, will feature a 29 MW IT green data center with cutting-edge cooling systems and on-site solar photovoltaics. Following the financial closing, construction will start right away, with H1 2025 being the anticipated ready-for-service date.
There hasn't been a data center built in the Gangnam neighborhood of Seoul in the previous ten years. Given the lack of supply in Seoul's current data center industry, GDC is a strong contender because of its advantageous location and seasoned management team. The financial closure represents a significant turning point for Empyrion DC and the Korean financing sector, which is slowly making up for the liquidity crisis brought on by the sell-off in the Korean bond market. Lenders now invest in only financially solid projects with extreme care when deploying debt.
To create the GDC project, Empyrion DC and Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co., Ltd. engaged in an engineering, procurement, and construction contract in January 2023. A Memorandum of Understanding between Empyrion and Sejong Telecom Inc., the top local telecom provider in South Korea, was successfully executed in February 2023. Sejong intends to use GDC to host their national backbone internet network. The backing of a significant anchor partner like Sejong says words about how appealing GDC is.
