Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company PJSC (du) and Microsoft have announced a joint venture to develop a 2 billion dirham (US$544.5 million) hyperscale data centre in the UAE, unveiled during Dubai AI Week. Microsoft will be the primary tenant, and the facility’s construction will proceed in phases.
This project marks du’s sixth data centre, reinforcing the UAE’s ambition to become a regional hub for AI and data infrastructure. The partnership supports the UAE’s National Strategy for AI 2031, which aims to create US$96 billion in economic value by 2030.
Hyperscale data centres like this are expected to underpin the country’s growing AI ecosystem, projected to be worth US$46.33 billion by 2030. The GCC data centre market is expanding rapidly, forecasted to grow from US$3.48 billion in 2024 to US$9.49 billion by 2030.
du’s investment comes amid increasing competition from global cloud providers like Google, AWS, and Oracle, alongside regional players such as Khazna, Equinix, and Gulf Data Hub. Sustainability remains a priority, with facilities incorporating energy-efficient cooling technologies for high-performance AI workloads.
As AI transforms sectors like logistics, finance, and smart cities, the UAE is leveraging strategic partnerships and infrastructure to transition from a resource-based to a data-driven economy.
