Taiwan Government Draws Up National IDC Projects

Taipei, Aug. 20, 2010 (CENS)--The Executive Yuan, Taiwan's Cabinet, plans to construct a national flagship Internet Data Center (IDC) in Yangmei City and has included an IDC being built by Chunghwa Telecom Co., Ltd. in Banciao City in its "Invest In Taiwan Program", according to senior officials of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC).

The planned center in Yangmei, around an hour's drive from capital city of Taipei, will be built on an 80,000-ping (one ping = 36 square feet) site to house multinational cloud-computing corporations. Investment in the center is estimated at around NT$40 billion (US$1.2 billion). Chunghwa Telecom, currently Taiwan's No.1 telecom carrier, is assessing joining the project.

Chunghwa Telecom's Banciao center calls for investment of around NT$15 billion (US$468 million). The Cabinet has designated the center as the location for housing local cloud-computing enterprises.

The Executive Yaun's "Invest In Taiwan Service Office" will hold a conference next Monday (Aug. 23) to spell out the government's 10 flagship projects of its "Invest In Taiwan Program," including IDC and WiMAX projects.

Chunghwa Telecom executives pointed out that the company is indeed the most capable telecom carrier to take part in the government's flagship project in consideration of its vast land assets. They added that Chunghwa Telecom would design the Yangmei center as a one-story building, compared with its multi-story center design in Banciao, so that the building could be completed sooner.

On the Yangmei IDC site, office buildings designed to house multinational corporations will be built alongside the IDC building.

To inspire private investment in the flagship IDC project, the Executive Yuan is considering offering incentives including investment tax credit, electrical power support, and assistance in soliciting foreign investments.

Chunghwa Telecom is estimated to buy NT$30 billion (US$937 million) worth of IDC equipment once it decides to take part in the government flagship IDC project.