With the majority of the tunnel situated more than 40 meters below ground level, the facility will leverage superior seismic resilience and physical security to meet the escalating computing demands of generative AI. Commercial operations are scheduled to commence in late 2027, with long-term plans to scale the installation into a high-capacity facility with a power receiving capacity of up to 20 megawatts.
An artist’s rendering shows the planned underground data center inside a decommissioned tunnel in Kobe, Japan.
The joint project was announced by major Japanese developer Mitsui Fudosan, general contractor Kumagai Gumi and Getworks, a Chiyoda, Tokyo-based specialized data center solutions provider. The tunnel infrastructure spans a total length of 14.5 kilometers and previously housed an extensive industrial belt-conveyor system until its operational retirement in September 2005.
Mitsui Fudosan and Kumagai Gumi participated in a municipal tender for the lease of a 3-kilometer section of the tunnel—covering a footprint of approximately 17,000 square meters—and secured the contract in September. The subterranean data center will deploy containerized modular units within the tunnel bore. Pacific Consultants is participating as a partner.
Mitsui Fudosan positions this project as a pioneering model for repurposing idle underground civil engineering assets across Japan. Moving forward, the developer plans to draw upon the development, operational, and engineering expertise accumulated through this venture to roll out underground data center projects in other regions nationwide.
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