4 Key Facts About Hong Kong's Sandy Ridge Data Park

As AI reshapes economies worldwide, computing power has become a key battleground among international cities. Within Hong Kong's Northern Metropolis, the Sandy Ridge Data Park marks a pivotal step in the Government's vision to make Hong Kong an international data hub and a regional AI development centre. Here is a concise overview of how this once-barren site is becoming a next-generation computing hub.

1. What is the Sandy Ridge Data Park?

Location: In Sandy Ridge, North District, between the Lo Wu and Man Kam To control points, at the heart of the Hong Kong and Shenzhen port economic belt within the Northern Metropolis.
Background: Long part of Hong Kong's Frontier Closed Area, the site's development was restricted for decades, earning it a reputation as barren land, until the closed area was progressively opened up in recent years.
Positioning: An advanced data centre and data park for related industries, focused on high-end computing facilities.
Origin: Stemming from the 2023 Policy Address, which rezoned the land from a planned columbarium to innovation and technology uses.

2. How Large is the Sandy Ridge Data Park, and How Has the Government Planned It?

Site area: Over 110,000 square metres, the largest industrial park in the Northern Metropolis to date.
Gross floor area: Up to 250,000 square metres, with close to 90 per cent dedicated to data centre use.
Investment: An estimated HK$23.8 billion from development through the first three years of operation, one of Hong Kong's largest industrial investment projects.
Model: The Government grants the land under a 50-year term, while industry leads development and operation.

3. Just How Powerful is the Computing Capacity of the Sandy Ridge Data Park?

Computing power is essentially the fuel of AI. The greater it is, the faster AI, cloud and big-data applications run. Sandy Ridge is designed to address Hong Kong's shortfall in this area.

Scale: By 2032, the park is expected to deliver up to 180,000 PFLOPS, equivalent to 36 times Hong Kong's current capacity.
Economic and employment impact: Around HK$4.6 billion in economic output and some 180 technical jobs within the first three years of operation.

4. What Does the Sandy Ridge Data Park Mean for Hong Kong, Enterprises and the Public?

For enterprises: Access to substantial computing power locally, enabling smoother data processing and lower latency, especially for real-time AI applications such as financial trading, smart manufacturing and analytics.
For the Greater Bay Area: A prime location to pool technology and talent from Hong Kong, Shenzhen and beyond, creating an industrial cluster effect.
For the nation: Supporting the "AI Plus" initiative and Digital China, while reinforcing Hong Kong's lead in cross-boundary data flow.
For the public: A foundation for bringing AI into everyday life, enhancing public services and daily convenience.

Network Infrastructure Comes First: HKT Powers the Sandy Ridge Data Park

A computing hub can only reach its full potential with high-speed connectivity. HKT fibre network already covers the Sandy Ridge Data Park and is ready for connection at any time.

Last year, HKT also launched Asia's First Enterprise-grade 800Gbps Wide Area Network Solution, the AI SuperHighway. This dedicated, fibre-based private network offers ultra-high-speed, ultra-low-latency, reliable and highly secure connectivity, supporting advanced supercomputing driven by AI, machine learning, cloud services and edge computing.