TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — At the groundbreaking for a new internet data center (IDC) Friday (Oct. 15), President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) expressed the hope it would serve as an East Asian regional digital hub and a commercial AI cloud center.

She was attending a ceremony in Taipei City for the fourth IDC to be launched in Taiwan by Chief Telecom, an affiliate of Chunghwa Telecom, CNA reported. The project will help internationalize the nation’s cloud sector, Tsai said.

According to the president, the nine-story building represents the idea of green and smart architecture. Once completed, it would attract overseas cloud companies to set up regional service centers, helping Taiwan gain a reputation as an international digital business center, she said.

Chief Telecom emphasized the importance of Taiwan’s geographical location, between Japan and South Korea on one side and Southeast Asia on the other. Six of the 10 member nations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) had already been contacted to form a strategic IDC alliance, Chief Telecom said.