HCMC sets up task force to speed up $2 bln AI data center project

Ho Chi Minh City has established an inter-agency task force to accelerate the implementation of a nearly $2 billion artificial intelligence data center project planned by Vietnamese industrial developer Kinh Bac City Development Holding Corporation (HoSE: KBC) and foreign partner AIC.

The task force will be headed by Lam Dinh Thang, director of the municipal Department of Science and Technology, which will also serve as the standing agency, according to a decision issued by the local government.

Representatives of Kinh Bac City, Accelerated Infrastructure Capital (AIC), a Hong Kong and London-based data center infrastructure investor, and Northwest Saigon City Development Corp – developer of Tan Phu Trung Industrial Park where the project will be located – are included in the task force.

Local authorities said the task force will be responsible for expediting project implementation, addressing bottlenecks within its mandate, and supporting investors in completing legal procedures to ensure compliance with regulations and timelines.

In November 2025, Kinh Bac signed a memorandum of understanding with AIC and VietinBank (HoSE: CTG) to jointly develop the SGI-HCM Campus, an AI-focused data center with an estimated investment of $2 billion in Cu Chi district. Funding will come from capital contributions by KBC and AIC, alongside participation from other partners.

The SGI-HCM Campus is designed to have a power capacity of 200 megawatts and is positioned to become one of the region’s largest AI-dedicated data center complexes, with the ability to operate up to 100,000 graphics processing units (GPUs) in the coming years.

KBC chairman Dang Thanh Tam said the project is expected to contribute to the development of Vietnam’s digital infrastructure, adding that data centers are a critical component in upgrading the value chain of industrial parks and enabling the country to capture emerging manufacturing and technology trends.

In October, HCMC’s Department of Science and Technology said Abu Dhabi-based G42 plans to invest about $2 billion to build a hyperscale AI data center in the city. In April, Viettel started work on a 140 MW data center in Tan Phu Trung Industrial Park, set to become one of the largest in Southeast Asia and the first in Vietnam to have such a hyperscale capacity.

Vietnam currently has 41 commercial data centers with a combined designed capacity of 221 MW, and several large-scale projects have been announced over the past year.

KBC shares were traded at VND35,650 ($1.39) each on mid-Wednesday.