Hong Kong goes underground for new data center caves
Building data centers above ground is cost prohibitive.
Lokvarka Cave near Lokve, Croatia
Plans are already in motion to start digging deep according to Cordells property law firm partner Hilary Cordells, reports The Register.
"Rock cavern development can be done, and datacentre use is a particularly good one," she said at the Datacentre Space Asia Conference this week. "It's on the government's radar screen and it's taking active steps but it's not easy and some sites will be more suitable than others."
According to a feasibility study by the special administrative region's (SAR) Civil Engineering and Development Department and engineering firm Arup, two-thirds of the land space in the region have a "high to medium suitability" for cave-digging. Five regions more than 20 hectares (over 49 acres) large have been homed in on as ideal starting points. Arup's report went on to say 400 government facilities have already been identified as possessing the "potential for rock cavern development," so it might not just be data centers taking the journey down under. In fact, the report suggests a whole raft of potential other uses, including cave research labs, rail maintenance depots, or even crematoriums. For scientific research or secret government projects, cave bases make sense given their indiscreet and secure nature. (Just ask Bruce Wayne.)
The report does acknowledge the environmental disruption such a drastic measure would cause but argues that it's been done sensitively before, citing Tai Lam Country Park where a train tunnel runs underneath (the local ecology was saved, with trees replanted etc). It also refers to successful, mainly leisure-based, international projects including Norway's incredible Gjøvik Mountain Hall. (That sounds a lot like a dwarf kingdom but is in fact a sports and music venue accommodating 5,500 people.)
Hong Kong is well known for its banking sector, but the city has been attracting more and more IT business in recent years. Clearly, it wants a chunk of the market share in the region. This year Hong Kong is hosting the first International IT Fest, which is being used as a forum for IT businesses to see Hong Kong's skills, infrastructure, and handy vicinity to mainland China. "We have a very good legal and banking system, good IP protection, free flow of information and few natural disasters—this is the competitive advantage Hong Kong can offer," the government's chief information office Daniel Lai told The Register last year about announcing financial incentives for IT companies converting disused factories into datacentres.
However, with land and property prices being among the highest in the world, Hong Kong is not exactly the obvious choice for moving a data-heavy business—hence the underground burrowing. As such, the government is not expected to be in involved with repurposing the land. According to the Arup report, the government's "hands off" approach to business means the weight of responsibility lies with the private sector. "To generate interest and involvement from the private sector, incentives would be required to make the developments attractive," reads the report, "the incentives could comprise preferential land premiums, enhanced development potential or tax incentives."
This story originally appeared on Wired UK.
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