SATSUMASENDAI, Kagoshima -- This southwest Japan city has unveiled a basic development plan to promote an industrial cluster centered on one of Japan's largest artificial intelligence (AI) data centers being developed on the Sendai Port waterfront.

The plan unveiled on Oct. 8 outlines land use for about 50 hectares in the area and presents a 10-year vision focused on attracting related industries, creating jobs and drawing more people to Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture.

In July, the Satsumasendai Municipal Government signed a location agreement with Kai Shin Digital Infrastructure Inc, a new company established by Taiwan's major venture capital firm CDIB Capital Group and others, to operate a data center with a power-receiving capacity of 350 megawatts by March 2033 at Circular Park Kyushu, a decarbonization hub on the former site of a Kyushu Electric Power Co. thermal power plant. Total investment, including related projects, is expected to reach 2.85 trillion yen (roughly $18 billion), and construction of some facilities will begin in late November.

Demand is expected from operators requiring large-scale data processing for generative AI and cloud services. The city, which hosts the Sendai Nuclear Power Station, has an advantage in securing a stable power supply. In September, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry certified the area as a GX, or green transformation, strategic zone for data center clusters, setting up conditions for the city to receive national project support.

In the basic plan, the municipal government designated Circular Park Kyushu as a data center business site covering 15 hectares and a resource circulation business site covering 10 hectares. It also said it plans to offer about 25 hectares at the adjacent Karahama industrial site as subdivided lots and attract manufacturers, logistics companies and other businesses in addition to expanding the data center. The city estimates site preparation costs at 12 billion yen (about $76 million) and industrial water infrastructure costs at 7 billion yen (approx. $44 million), and is surveying companies in Japan and abroad about their interest in moving into the area.

Satsumasendai Mayor Ryoji Tanaka visited Hsinchu Science Park in northern Taiwan, one of the world's leading advanced industrial clusters, in September. The city plans to learn from its integrated industry-government-academia initiatives and reflect that in fleshing out the basic plan.

"With the population declining, it is important to work on new industries for the revitalization and sustainable development of regional cities," Tanaka said. "I hope children and young people will learn about new industries and work in them, and that people from overseas, including Taiwan, will come here for exchanges."

(Japanese original by Tomoshige Fujino, Kagoshima Bureau)