Khazna Data Centers has revealed it will add over 1GW of hyperscale capacity by 2030 across multiple countries. The hosting company’s roadmap includes more than 400MW of new capacity in international markets such as Saudi Arabia and Italy, alongside major domestic developments in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Ajman.
The announcement, at the Gitex Global 2025 conference in Dubai, underscores Khazna’s role as the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE’s) national digital infrastructure champion and a key enabler of AI-native nations.
“Our mission is to deliver resilient, sustainable, and sovereign-ready AI infrastructure,” said Tinboat Arslanouk, chief business officer – international. “We are not just building datacentres, we are providing the foundation for global innovation and national transformation.”
Khazna’s expansion comes at a time when AI adoption is accelerating across the UAE.
“The region’s growth in AI, and specifically in the UAE, comes from the leadership’s commitment to leapfrogging into the future and building intelligence locally to fuel economic development,” said Arslanouk.
“As an infrastructure provider, we are part of the ecosystem that gives AI a home. We host the servers, the neural networks, and the systems that generate the insights used across business and personal life.”
The company’s international push reflects the growing demand for hyperscale datacentres capable of supporting AI workloads.
“We started construction in Saudi Arabia and are actively working on projects in France and Italy, while also exploring opportunities in Turkey and Southeast Asia,” Arslanouk said.
“We take a macro view on the market to decide where to enter. AI accelerates demand dramatically and what a country previously needed in terms of data capacity may now be multiplied several times over.”
Sustainability is central to Khazna’s strategy, particularly as datacentres are energy intensive.
“We tackle sustainability on multiple layers,” Arslanouk said. “A substantial portion of our power comes from nuclear plants, with additional capacity from photovoltaic and CSP solar projects. Over 40% of the UAE’s electricity mix is already carbon-free, and that will continue to grow. Even our fossil fuel generation comes mainly from natural gas, the cleanest of the fossil fuels.”
Energy availability, local regulations, and infrastructure readiness are all critical factors in Khazna’s expansion decisions. “Even if a market is promising, limitations on energy or local regulations can prevent us from pursuing a project,” he added. “We need to calibrate these factors carefully to ensure our strategy works long-term.”
Khazna’s datacentres are designed for AI workloads, enabling CIOs and enterprises to deploy hybrid cloud environments while maintaining data sovereignty.
“Our proposition is to come to the country and build infrastructure locally. This ensures sovereignty and security, giving CIOs confidence that sensitive data remains protected,” he said.
The company’s expansion aligns with the UAE’s broader AI vision, which includes appointing the world’s first minister of artificial intelligence and chief AI officers across ministries. According to Arslanouk, “The UAE’s ambition on AI is phenomenal. Boardrooms around the world now look to the UAE for use cases and lessons on integrating AI into operational workflows.”
Through partnerships with global technology providers, including Microsoft, Khazna is supporting the government in developing AI use cases, training talent, and ensuring that AI deployments are secure and compliant.
“We are building infrastructure that allows both global innovation and national transformation. Our work ensures that the UAE remains a leader in AI while exporting use cases and expertise to the world.”
The company’s flagship project, the Stargate initiative, exemplifies this approach: “We began the Stargate project after the US President’s visit to the UAE, and we hope to deliver the first phase next summer,” Arslanouk said.
“Our ultimate goal is to reach five gigawatts of AI capacity, not just in the UAE but across the markets we enter.”
