Boosting National Computing Power! First Digital Infrastructure PPP Project to Finalize by Year-End, with 3 Firms Leading AI Computing Center BOO Bid

To respond to global AI-driven national competitiveness, the government is accelerating the development of the Five Trusted Industries and the AI New Ten Major Construction initiatives. The National Development Council (NDC), Ministry of Finance, and Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) have jointly launched a trillion-dollar national development investment scheme, successfully guiding private capital into critical infrastructure projects.

The AI computing center BOO project, announced in April this year, has already attracted applications from three companies, with contracts expected to be signed by the end of the year—marking Taiwan’s first landmark private-participation digital infrastructure project.

The government is adopting a public-private partnership (PPP) model, collaborating through the NDC’s regulatory adaptation platform and the Financial Services Development Council to identify strategic industries qualifying as public infrastructure. In addition to AI computing centers, projects including green low-carbon data centers, power trading platform auxiliary services, EV charging stations, energy storage systems, and submarine cables are included. Insurance industry investments in these projects qualify for a risk factor of 1.28% and an investment limit raised to 45%, significantly enhancing market attractiveness.

The Ministry of Digital Affairs has issued multiple interpretations in 114 and 115 to clearly define publicly accessible AI computing centers as public investments, establishing a legal foundation for private investment.

On the incentive front, the Ministry of Finance included AI computing centers in the scope of major public construction projects in March 115, qualifying them for a five-year exemption from corporate income tax—further encouraging private firms to propose their own PPP initiatives. With strong policy support, if this flagship project progresses smoothly, the model will be replicated to focus on energy infrastructure and sovereign AI demonstration applications, channeling investments into smart transformations in education, healthcare, and finance.

The Ministry of Finance is also studying the inclusion of more strategic projects under major public construction tax incentives, aiming to build a comprehensive smart nation ecosystem through public-private collaboration and drive comprehensive industrial upgrading in Taiwan.