Name of Client : Saudi Authority for Data & Artificial Intelligence (SDAIA)
Contract Value : $2,700,000,000
Facility Type : Telecommunications
Field Type : Brownfield
Sector : Infrastructure
Main Contractor : Albawani
Location : Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
EPC Award : Q1 – 2026
Background
The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) plans to develop a data centre in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The purpose is to support over 290 government systems, provide sovereign compute capacity for AI development, and serve as a cornerstone of Saudi Vision 2030.
The project is expected to deliver $450 million in annual savings and generate significant local economic impact as part of Vision 2030.
With its two concentric hexagonal structures, the facility will become the world’s largest government-owned data centre by power capacity.
It reduces dependence on foreign clouds, bolsters national security with 99.995 per cent uptime, and enables scalable public services, fostering innovation across sectors.
PROJECT SCOPE
The project involves the construction of a 480 MW data centre in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, designed with advanced energy-efficiency and smart cooling technologies such as direct liquid cooling and hybrid cooling systems.
It will function as a government cloud hosting hub, supporting over 290 government digital systems and platforms, providing centralised infrastructure for Saudi government applications, national databases, and sovereign cloud workloads, and enabling the DEEM Government Cloud for secure data processing. The facility will be a Tier IV hyperscale data centre built to Uptime Institute standards, ensuring 99.995 per cent availability with full fault tolerance and redundancy across power, cooling, and network systems.
The development also includes massive civil and architectural works spanning a 30 million square foot site, featuring a unique dual concentric hexagonal design with data halls, central utility plants, administrative buildings, security facilities, and utility infrastructure.
Additionally, the electrical infrastructure will support a 480 MW IT load capacity and include high-voltage substations, backup generators, UPS systems, and robust power distribution for mission-critical operations.
PROJECT STATUS
As of April 2026, the construction of the project is proceeding accordingly.
Project Finance
The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) is the project client.
PROJECT SCHEDULES
Project Announced : Q1 – 2026
EP : Q1 – 2026
Construction : Q1 – 2026
Completion : Q1 – 2029