Hong Kong is placing a high-stakes bet on artificial intelligence infrastructure, breaking ground on a multi-dollar data center project in the Northern Metropolis that could boost the city’s computing capacity 36-fold and reshape its role in the regional technology landscape.

Hong Kong Range Intelligent Computing Technology Company, which won the tender for the Sandy Ridge data facility cluster site in the mega Northern Metropolis development earlier this month, began construction work on the project on Saturday.

Its ultimate holding company – Shenzhen-listed Range Intelligent Computing Technology Group Company – specializes in developing and operating high-end data facilities on the Chinese mainland.

“The project’s launch marks a milestone in Hong Kong’s innovation push, and a decisive step in turning the Northern Metropolis from blueprint to reality,” Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry Sun Dong said at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Range (Hong Kong) Sandy Ridge data facility cluster, hailing the company as the “pioneer in the city’s first ever high-end data cluster”.

“The company’s capital commitment and concrete action signals a strong vote of confidence in Hong Kong’s emergence as a magnet for high tech,” he said.

Backed by an initial investment of HK$23.8 billion ($3 billion) in the first three years, the project will deliver 180,000 petaflops of computing capacity by 2032 – equal to 180,000 quadrillion calculations per second and roughly 36 times Hong Kong’s current level – with nearly 90 percent of its 250,000 square meters of floor space dedicated to high-end data centers.

Sun said the facility is expected to begin operations within 42 months and will generate HK$4.6 billion in economic output in its early phase, along with the creation of about 180 technical jobs.

The project moved from approval to construction in just a matter of weeks, highlighting what Sun called “a sense of urgency” in advancing innovation and technology.

Zhou Chaonan, chairwoman of Range Intelligent Computing Technology Group Company, framed the company’s journey in similar terms.

She recalled that when the firm was founded in Langfang, south of Beijing, in 2009, many felt cloud computing was too distant. But, having caught the wave of cloud computing, the company moved rapidly to establish a nationwide presence within a three-year cycle to 2021 to fit in well with the country’s new infrastructure strategy, building a substantial foundation of data facilities across the nation.

“Today, we’re here in Hong Kong with the same determination, aiming to help build the Sandy Ridge site into an innovation hub for Hong Kong and our country, underpinned by the city’s strong universities and deep talent pool,” Zhou said.

China’s 15th Five-Year Plan (2016-30) has put “AI+” at the center of its strategy, while backing the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’s ambition to become an international innovation and technology hub, and accelerate the development of the Northern Metropolis.

Once operational, the data cluster is expected to function as a cross-border data hub, a growth engine for Hong Kong’s AI sector, and a key pillar in advancing the Digital China agenda through scalable computing power, Sun said.

Contact the writer at sophialuo@chinadailyhk.com