The Export-Import Bank of Korea will provide a $170 million loan to build an artificial intelligence education center in Tanzania, marking the first AI project financed through South Korea's Economic Development Cooperation Fund.

The state-run lender said Thursday that its Senior Executive Vice President Lee Dong-hoon and Tanzanian Deputy Finance Minister Natu E. Mwamba signed the loan agreement with the Tanzanian government in Dar es Salaam on Wednesday.

The project is also the first under Seoul's "K-AI Package," an initiative to combine development financing with Korean AI technologies to support emerging economies and create overseas business opportunities for Korean companies.

The center will be built on a 35,000-square-meter site and offer four programs covering AI, robotics, data analytics and the Internet of Things. It will focus on training specialists in physical AI.

It will feature AI laboratories and advanced training facilities, while adopting Korean technologies and education systems for teaching, assessments and instructor training.

The curriculum will also incorporate cloud-based platforms for sharing courses and managing learning, with the aim of establishing a model for AI education in Tanzania.

The Tanzanian government plans to develop a large-scale AI data center nearby and establish an AI cluster to attract technology companies.

Korea Eximbank said the project could serve as a foothold for expanding Korean AI technologies and infrastructure businesses into Africa.

"We will use this project as a first step toward establishing Korean AI technologies in Africa," Lee said, pledging continued support for Korean companies pursuing overseas infrastructure projects in AI, digital technology and other strategic sectors.

By Jung Young-seon (jyoungseon8@heraldcorp.com)