Welcome to the GDCA’s Weekly News Blast email. Every Thursday we’ll be bringing you a curated round-up of all the trending Middle Eastern data centre news from the week, including any news from our Sponsors. We’ll also be posting a Weekly News Blast on our LinkedIn, so stay tuned.
Have any Middle East data centres news you’d like to share? Email yours to pr@gulfdca.com with NEWS in the subject line.
Sponsor News
RED
RED wins big at the MEP Middle East Awards!
RED came home victorious with several award wins from the MEP Middle East Awards on 21st September! Takwa Dawdi from RED’s Dubai team won the Young Engineer of the Year at the while the company was also awarded Employee Wellness Initiative of the Year. Congratulations #TeamRED! Read more…
Industry News
Middle East
TEAS fibre optic cable set to link Israel to Gulf
Gulf states and Israel are positioning themselves as potential partners on projects to develop new regional trade and connectivity routes. The 20,000-kilometre project, known as the Trans Europe Asia System (TEAS), would link Mumbai to Marseille via submarine cables and a terrestrial segment crossing the Arabian Peninsula. Cinturion has signed a MoU with UAE’s “du”, to build a landing station in the UAE. Read more…
Sparkle partners with Jordan’s Aqaba Digital Hub for BlueMed cable
Sparkle confirms the activation of the terrestrial section of the BlueMed cable that will connect Italy with France, Greece, and several countries along the Mediterranean Sea to Aqaba in Jordan. The cable is part of the Blue & Raman subsea cable systems built in partnership with Google and other operators, which will extend to Mumbai in India. Read more…
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia and Greece look to link power grids
Saudi Arabia’s National Grid and Greece’s IPTO will look to set up a jointly-owned company, Saudi Greek Interconnection, each with a 50% stake, that will look at linking their power grids and supply Europe with cheaper green energy. Read more…
Saudi data centre market forecast to cross $1.77 billion by 2027
With digital and tech advancements growing rapidly, and further growth being propelled by multinational corporations expanding their cloud regions in the country, Saudi’s cloud services market alone is expected to reach nearly $2.4 billion by 2026. Read more…
Saudi future proofing workforce with AI
With digitalisation and emerging technologies forecast to contribute 2.4% to KSA’s GDP by 2030, the country is set to train and develop a pool of 20,000 AI and data specialists. Read more…
UAE
Nokia to build data lab in Dubai
Nokia has unveiled plans to launch an Open Innovation lab in Dubai as part of its drive to develop its Cloud RAN push in the MEA region. The lab will enable it to accelerate the adoption of new technologies such as AI/ML for network automation and optimisation. Read more…
Bahrain
Bahrain issues Gold Licenses to support $1.4bn worth of projects
STC’s data centre campus and cable system receive one of the first five Gold Licenses issued by Bahrain’s Economic Development Board, which are available to any project with an investment of at least $50m or employment opportunities for 500 or more in the country. Read more…
Qatar
Qatar construction costs to be impacted by competition for labour and resources
Ongoing activity across the Middle East, particularly in KSA’s construction market, will see Qatar compete for labour and resources which will impact construction cost escalation in the near future. According to Turner & Townsend’s Qatar Market Intelligence Autumn Q3 2023, Doha is currently the most expensive location to build in the region, with an average cost of US$2,588 per sqm. Read more…
Oman
Oman exploring hydrogen power
Oman’s Ministry of Energy and Minerals has signed two MoUs with American ‘Eden Geopower’ and the Omani Earth Sciences Consultancy Center to assess the potential of geologic hydrogen exploration in the Sultanate. Read more…