An artist’s impression of Nantong international data industrial park [Photo/ntjoy.com]

Two 110-kv substations for the Alibaba Jiangsu cloud computing and data center officially started operations in Nantong Comprehensive Bonded Zone on Feb 28.

The substations have passed five impact tests and will power 300,000 servers in the center.

With a total investment of 18 billion yuan ($2.66 billion), the Nantong center is one of the five big data centers Alibaba has set up across the country, with the aim of supporting its booming e-commerce business.

The other four are located in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, Zhangbei, Hebei province, Guangzhou, Guangdong province and Ulanqab, Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

The center has been designed and built to meet international standards and is highly efficient, with a minimal impact on the environment.

Upon completion, which is scheduled for the end of July, it will be Alibaba’s largest cloud computing center in East China, mainly serving local businesses listed on Taobao, the company’s online shopping platform. 

It is also expected to help form a big data industrial chain in Nantong, making the city a key IT hub for East China.