The business, formerly formerly known as Edgnex, said this is part of a $1 billion data centre development strategy in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
Hussain Sajwani (pictured), chairman of the group, said that Saudi Arabia’s “borders touch more countries than almost any other and it is an ideal jumping off point for connecting across Africa and the GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council countries].”
The deal means Damac will add a further 35MW of capacity to the 20MW already under construction. The company announced the 20MW Riyadh data centre in 2022. Then, the company said that unit would go live in the third quarter of this year. Now it says the expansion will also go live in 2023.
Dammam is on the east coast of Saudi Arabia, close to Bahrain, and Riyadh is inland. “Our facilities in Dammam and Riyadh offer local diversity as well as rapid access to subsea cable systems that serve regional and global needs,” said Sajwani.
The deal was announced by Bassam Al-Bassam, Saudi Arabia’s deputy minister for telecom and infrastructure, and Aqil Jaffer Ali, Damac group’s senior VP for special projects.
Sajwani implied the group is looking for more locations for data centres. “We are selecting locations for data centre facilities based on local demographics, the state of digital adoption, and opportunities to support long-term economic growth. Every site location we choose must meet strict criteria based on future demand rather than who needs rack space today,” he said.
“Our Dammam and Riyadh sites more than meet these criteria and these will be two of several facilities that we are planning in [Saudi Arabia]. We’re excited to ramp up our builds and deliver data centre facilities that serve local market needs.”
