Hong Kong: HKT’s AI Superhighway to Support Data Centres

Hong Kong Telecommunications (HKT) has announced its plans to roll out its AI Data Centre Inter-connect (DCI) Superhighway service. HKT says it is the first service of its kind in Hong Kong. 

The Government of Hong Kong is rapidly funnelling money into the AI sector, trying to catch up to other countries in the global AI race as some Chinese firms are building out infrastructure needed to support AI in the region. 

According to the South China Morning Post, in recent years, the government has pumped billions into building AI infrastructure, including HK$2.84bn (US$364m) for a semiconductor centre.

The AI Superhighway Service

HKT says its ultra-low latency 3.2Tbps AI Data Centre Inter-connect (DCI) Superhighway service enables AI infrastructure providers to efficiently scale training and inference operations.

Steve Ng, Managing Director of Commercial Group at HKT, says: "At HKT, we see connectivity as the critical foundation of Hong Kong's AI future. 

“This next-generation fibre network delivers ultra-low latency, high-speed and secure data exchange to unlock the full potential of AI development across the city.”

Steve also added the project lays vital groundwork for the Northern Metropolis, linking the Hetao area with existing data centres in Hong Kong. 

Positioned as an upgrade to HKT’s 800Gbps AI Superhighway, the 3.2Tbps AI DCI Superhighway supports advanced industry standards including Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA), RDMA Over Converged Ethernet, Multipath Reliable Connection  and Ultra-Ethernet Transport.

The company says it enables AI infrastructure providers and institutions to have ultra-fast and seamless access to computing resources across multiple data centres to meet next-generation AI workloads.

Hong Kong’s AI data centre push

In June 2026, the South China Morning Post reported that the Hong Kong Government granted 11 hectares of land to a Chinese computing technology company to build a massive data centre at Sandy Ridge.

The project would increase Hong Kong’s computing power by 36 times the current level by 2032, according to the Hong Kong headquartered newspaper. 

As the region builds up its data centres, it will need connectivity services to support them. 

HKT says its DCI will run on the advanced hollow core fibre, which is planned between Lok Ma Chau Loop and Tseung Kwan O, achieving about 30% lower latency than traditional fibre.

The combination of high bandwidth and ultra-low latency keeps thousands of GPUs across data centres working in sync; the company says it will reduce the time and cost of compute by minimising delays in data transmission, while simultaneously lowering power-per-bit to improve energy efficiency.

Ricky Kwong, Head of Fixed Network Engineering, HKT and CEO, Fiber Link Global, says: “HKT is firmly committed to supporting innovation in Hong Kong, with the ambition of positioning our city as one of the most advanced I&T hubs in the world. 

“To realise this vision, we are upgrading the AI Superhighway across Hong Kong's major data centre clusters.”

China, the US and Hong Kong

China and the US are the two main players in the world’s AI race. The Boston Consulting Group described the US strategy as ‘winning through scale’, accelerating capital deployment and building out massive amounts of data centre infrastructure to support demand from AI. 

Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China, it is a self-governed authority under the "one country, two systems" framework, implemented in 1997 – when Hong Kong gained independence from the United Kingdom, which transferred authority to the People’s Republic of China. 

While China and the US battle it out on frontier AI models, Hong Kong is ramping up its own data centre deployments, some supported by Chinese tech firms. The British Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong wrote, in an article they posted on LinkedIn in June 2026, that Hong Kong currently operates approximately 581 megawatts of live data centre capacity, with more than 400 MW under construction or in planning across the city.

Last year, US regulators moved to block HKT from US telecommunications networks – citing its affiliation with a Chinese Communist Party controlled entity.