Abu Dhabi and Dubai now lead the world’s emerging data center markets, ranking first and second in Cushman & Wakefield’s 2025 Global Data Center Market Comparison. Rapid infrastructure rollout, competitive infrastructure costs, fast-track approvals, and accelerating demand tied to AI and cloud expansion have put the emirates in the top spots, the report said.

How fast are we talking? While global markets struggle with grid delays, the UAE is accelerating delivery. Dubai’s Electricity and Water Authority connects commercial projects up to 150 kW within five days. Abu Dhabi’s Transco and Taqa are coordinating inter-emirate grid links, with Taqa planning USD 10.9 bn in upgrades. A zero-VAT regime for most data center activities also adds to investor appeal.

Anchor tenants are also driving scale: The availability of land, infrastructure, and power is attracting global hyperscalers to the emirate. Microsoft leads a USD 540 mn du-developed facility in Dubai, while OpenAI and Oracle are anchor tenants at Stargate UAE in Abu Dhabi. Other hyperscalers including Amazon Web Services, Alibaba, Equinix, and Khazna are scaling up, while enterprise demand is rising — with Emirates Group relocating its infrastructure to a solar-powered site at Mohammed bin Rashid Solar Park.

Global partnerships and access also helps ease supply chain woes: Despite global bottlenecks in GPUs, cooling systems, and transformers, Emirati projects are advancing quickly, with several expected online within a year of announcement. Efficient customs and strategic public-private partnerships, like Microsoft’s USD 1.5 bn investment in G42, are helping to mitigate the procurement and supply chain delays normally affecting the industry, Cushman & Wakefield said.

REMEMBER- The UAE and the US reportedly reached an export agreement allowing the UAE to receive up to 500k Nvidia chips annually.

By the numbers: The UAE hosts over 250 MW of live capacity, with an additional 500 MW in development. Abu Dhabi accounts for 40% of that pipeline, including 150 MW set to go live by end-2025. Khazna Data Centers — valued at USD 5.5 bn — holds over half of the current market share.

Capital inflows are accelerating: The UAE data center market is projected to grow from USD 1.3 bn in 2024 to over USD 3.3 bn by 2030. Notable investments include:

Khazna is pushing expansion at home: The operator is building 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 scheduled for completion by end-2026. Khazna is also partnering with Nvidia to deploy up to 250 MW of AI clusters across the Middle East and Africa, starting with UAE facilities based on Nvidia’s Blackwell architecture.

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