UAE and Saudi Arabia to Drive 80% of Gulf Data Center Expansion

The Gulf region is rapidly cementing its status as a major global hub for data center development and artificial intelligence infrastructure, according to a recent assessment by S&P Global Ratings.

The ratings agency reported that Gulf Cooperation Council countries are strongly positioned to power the next wave of AI infrastructure investments. Regional data center capacity is anticipated to nearly triple, surpassing 3 gigawatts by 2030. The expansion is heavily spearheaded by the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, which together are projected to represent more than 80 percent of this upcoming capacity.

Key drivers of this substantial growth include state-level strategic investments, modern high-speed connectivity infrastructure, and comparatively competitive electricity costs. However, analysts emphasize that maintaining this rapid expansion will require keeping power generation, grid stability, and advanced cooling infrastructure closely aligned with mounting energy demands.

To address surging power requirements and heat management challenges, both Gulf nations are actively deploying advanced efficiency and cooling initiatives. In the UAE, the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, alongside Khazna Data Centers and Agility, has piloted specialized AI-driven software to cut cooling-related power consumption by up to 40 percent. Furthermore, a 100-megawatt liquid-cooled AI facility is underway in Ajman to sustain high-performance computing hardware.

In Saudi Arabia, ambitious projects such as HUMAIN's planned 1.9-gigawatt facility near Riyadh are catalyzing regional energy developments. Concurrently, regional institutions are testing water-free geothermal cooling methods designed to curtail facility electricity use by up to 50 percent, ensuring long-term resource efficiency across the Kingdom's digital landscape.