Busan City to Host Major Quantum Complex with Hines, IBM

Busan City in South Korea has announced the sale of its last available real estate location in Haeundae Centum City to US real estate developer Hines. The 9900-square-meter site, which has been unused for the past 22 years, will now be the home of the Global Quantum Complex, a 74-story, 160,000-square-meter state-of-the-art facility that will host businesses and research dedicated to quantum computing. The complex will be built in collaboration with the Korea Quantum Computing Corporation (KQC) and IBM, and is expected to drive new economic growth for Busan.

Quantum computers are highly advanced machines that can solve problems much faster than traditional supercomputers. The market for quantum computing is highly competitive, with countries and companies like the US, China, Japan, IBM, and Google all competing for dominance. Busan City Council passed the "Haeundae Bexco Ancillary Facility Site Sale Plan" in October 2022 in order to establish a quantum computing ecosystem in the city.

The Global Quantum Complex is expected to break ground in 2024, with a completion date set for 2027. The project has an estimated investment cost of 1.3 trillion won ($1.2 billion) and is expected to bring major investment and innovation to the region. Mayor Park Hyung-jun stated that the development of the complex marks the beginning of Busan's Quantum Initiative, which will attract global companies and advance civilization beyond the digital era.

Hines has a strong presence in the South Korean market, with an investment and development office established in 2021 and a capital markets office established in Seoul in 2013. In the past two years, the company has acquired West Gate Tower in Seoul and three logistics developments in Incheon, Anseong and Hwaseong. Ray Lawler, CEO Asia Pacific at Hines, said that South Korea is an important growth market for the company and they are looking forward to partnering with Busan City to expand their business into innovative sectors such as quantum computing.

Harry Lee, managing director and country head of South Korea at Hines, said that Busan, as South Korea's second-largest city, is an important hub for business, R&D, logistics, trading and global shipping, and he is confident that the Global Quantum Complex will help make the community more vibrant and drive the city towards its goal of becoming a global business hub centered around quantum computing.

Busan's Haeundae Centum City is set to become a landmark in Asia with the construction of the Global Quantum Complex. The city's commitment to quantum computing is expected to bring major investment and innovation to the region, and position it as a major player in the highly competitive global market for quantum computing.