UAE-based real estate developer Damac Properties has committed a $20 billion investment in the United States to develop data centres across the country, focusing on supporting artificial intelligence and cloud businesses. The announcement was made by president-elect Donald Trump, alongside Hussain Sajwani, Damac’s founder and chairman.
The first phase of the project will be executed in states including Texas, Arizona, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, and Indiana. Trump highlighted that this investment will support the creation of significant data centres across the Midwest and Sun Belt areas, helping to keep the US at the forefront of technological advancements.
Sajwani mentioned the company’s long-standing plans to increase investments in the US, saying that the market conditions were now right for such a substantial venture. Damac’s digital unit, Edgnex Data Centres, had previously invested in similar international projects, including a $100 million collaboration with Vodafone in Turkey.
The announcement comes amid growing demand for data centre infrastructure, which surged during the pandemic as businesses migrated to the cloud. Sajwani’s company has also made recent investments in Thailand and Saudi Arabia, continuing to expand its global footprint.
Damac Properties has also been active in the real estate sector, recently launching the Damac Islands development in Dubai, which sold over 3,000 units in less than 10 hours. In the US, this $20 billion data centre investment adds to the list of significant foreign investments announced after Trump’s 2024 victory.
The business relationship between Trump and Sajwani goes back to the opening of a Trump-branded golf course in Dubai, under Damac’s ownership, before Trump left office in 2017. Both parties are open to future collaborations, including potential new projects through the Trump Organisation.
