Abu Dhabi and Dubai have seized the top two spots globally in Cushman & Wakefield’s 2025 Global Data Center Market Comparison, underscoring the UAE’s rapid emergence as a powerhouse in digital infrastructure. This surge is driven by the aggressive rollout of infrastructure, competitive costs, streamlined approvals, and escalating demand from the expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) and the cloud.
The emirates’ swift delivery contrasts with global grid delays. Dubai’s Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) can connect commercial projects up to 150 kW within five days, while Abu Dhabi’s Transco and Taqa are coordinating inter-emirate grid links, with Taqa planning $10.9 billion in upgrades. A zero-VAT regime for most data center activities further enhances investor appeal.
Khazna Data Centers, valued at $5.5 billion, currently commands over 50% of the UAE’s live data center market share, spearheading the expansion of the sector. The company is developing three AI-optimized facilities in the UAE – two 30 MW data centers in Mafraq and Masdar City, and a 100 MW site in Ajman, all of which are slated for completion by the end of 2026. Khazna is also collaborating with Nvidia to deploy up to 250 MW of AI clusters across the Middle East and Africa, starting with facilities in the UAE based on Nvidia’s Blackwell architecture.
The availability of land, infrastructure, and power has attracted global hyperscalers. Microsoft anchors a $540 million du-developed facility in Dubai, while OpenAI and Oracle serve as anchor tenants at the Stargate UAE campus in Abu Dhabi. Other major players, including Amazon Web Services, Alibaba, and Equinix, are also scaling up their operations. Enterprise demand is also on the rise, with the Emirates Group relocating its infrastructure to a solar-powered site at the Mohammed bin Rashid Solar Park.
Despite global bottlenecks in components such as GPUs, cooling systems, and transformers, Emirati projects are advancing rapidly, with several expected to come online within a year of announcement. Cushman & Wakefield noted that efficient customs processes and strategic public-private partnerships, exemplified by Microsoft’s $1.5 billion investment in G42, are mitigating procurement and supply chain delays common in the industry. The UAE and the U.S. have reportedly reached an export agreement allowing the UAE to receive up to 500,000 Nvidia chips annually, further solidifying its AI ambitions.
By the numbers, the UAE currently hosts over 250 MW of live data center capacity, with an additional 500 MW in active development. Abu Dhabi alone accounts for 40% of this pipeline, with 150 MW projected to go live by the end of 2025.
Capital inflows are accelerating into the sector, with the UAE data center market projected to expand from $1.3 billion in 2024 to over $3.3 billion by 2030. Notable investments include:
- A $25 billion ADQ-Energy Capital Partners platform specifically targeting data center power infrastructure.
- A $30 billion MGX-Microsoft-BlackRock AI infrastructure consortium.
- Stargate UAE, a 5 GW G42-led campus backed by OpenAI, Oracle, Nvidia, and Cisco, with 1 GW expected online by 2026.
