UAE
Khazna and Uptime mark regional milestone for liquid-cooled AI data centres
Khazna Data Centers has been awarded Uptime Institute Tier III Certification of Design Documents (TCDD) for its new 100MW AI-optimised facility in Ajman (QAJ01), which is set to become the first certified AI data centre with liquid cooling in the MENA region. The project includes 20 data halls of 5MW each and has been purpose-built to support high-density AI training and inference workloads, with advanced liquid-cooling systems designed to manage thermal loads while maintaining energy efficiency and resilience. The certification marks an important milestone for both Khazna and the wider regional digital infrastructure market, highlighting growing demand for globally certified, AI-ready facilities in the Gulf. Khazna also noted that its UAE portfolio now includes 30 data centres, with 22 already achieving Tier III Certification of Constructed Facility…Read more
Middle East
WorldLink: $700Mn cable project to boost Europe-Middle East connectivity
A UAE-Iraqi consortium has announced plans for WorldLink, a $700Mn subsea and terrestrial cable project designed to connect the UAE to Turkey via Iraq, with onward connectivity to Europe. The privately funded project will be built in phases over five years and is expected to deliver 900Tbps of capacity, with branches linking Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait. Positioned as a carrier-neutral route for international carriers, hyperscalers, and AI-driven applications, WorldLink aims to improve Europe-Middle East connectivity, reduce latency to below 100ms, and offer an alternative to increasingly congested and vulnerable cable routes via Egypt’s Suez corridor. The announcement also reflects the wider acceleration of digital infrastructure investment across the region, as Gulf players expand their influence through major cross-border telecom and connectivity projects…Read more
Microsoft targets $50Bn to help close the global AI divide
Microsoft says it is on track to invest around $50Bn to help address the ‘’AI divide’’ between the Global North and Global South, after finding that AI usage in the Global North is currently twice as high. As part of a five-part programme, the company said it already spent 48Bn in the last fiscal year on cloud and AI data centres across the Global South, with infrastructure investments spanning India, Mexico, Africa, South America, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. Microsoft said these investments are being paired with broader efforts to expand connectivity, support digital skills development, build multilingual AI tools, and develop AI solutions for local needs. The announcement underscores how major cloud providers are increasingly linking AI infrastructure expansion with long-term digital inclusion and market development strategies…Read more
Ooredoo to spin off international cable unit by 2027
Ooredoo Group has announced plans to spin off its international subsea cable business into a new unit, Opredoo Fibre Networks (OFN), as part of a broader push to scale its digital infrastructure investments. The carve-out is expected to be completed by 2027, with OFN set up as a dedicated platform for submarine cable and high-capacity terrestrial fibre projects targeting rising demand from hyperscalers, cloud providers, and AI platforms. Ooredoo said the move supports its long-term growth strategy and aims to strengthen its position as a key connectivity gateway between Asia, the Gulf, and Europe, while increasing international infrastructure revenues from 3% to 12% of group revenues over time. The announcement also comes as Ooredoo continues to expand its regional network, including the FIG subsea cable system currently under development across the Gulf…Read more
Interesting News
1GW Meta campus in Texas draws focus on interim power solutions
Meta’s new 1GW data centre campus in El Paso, Texas is drawing attention because it is set to be powered behind-the-meter by 366MW of modular natural gas generation during an initial five-year ‘’bridge period’’, while the site remains unconnected to the grid. The project reportedly includes 813 modular generators (costing around $473Mn) and forms part of a much larger multi-phase development, with $1.5Bn planned for phase one alone. The scheme is particularly interesting because it highlights a growing industry trend: hyperscalers are increasingly using interim or dedicated on-site power solutions to accelerate delivery of AI-ready capacity when grid connections are delayed. At the same time, the proposal has triggered local regulatory, environmental, and community pushback, underscoring the tensions between speed-to-power, sustainability expectations, and public scrutiny as AI infrastructure scales…Read more