Despite this rapid expansion, the industry faces significant challenges, including data centre design, scalability, and a shortage of skilled professionals.

• Ashish Ahuja, founder & CEO – Sloka Partners, LLC (moderator)
• Fuad Mohseni, head of infrastructure & projects – Batelco
• Kamel Al-Tawil, managing director MENA – Equinix
• Amar Khan, head of network site investments – Meta
• Mabs Khan, chief commercial officer – center3
• Dr Angus Hay, regional executive for South Africa – Africa Data Centres

Ahuja opened the session by highlighting the rapid expansion of the Middle East’s data centre industry, noting that more than 75 data centres exist in the region, with the number expected to double every five years. He posed the question: How do you see this demand evolving in the coming years, and what challenges and opportunities exist?

center3’s Mabs Khan acknowledged the region’s unprecedented data centre demand, with an estimated 20% annual growth rate. He identified the primary demand drivers as hyperscalers, cloud adoption, localisation of gaming and content, and AI workloads. “AI workloads will accelerate this growth even further,” he noted.

However, challenges persist, with land and power availability topping the list. “If you can get land next to power, that’s ideal, but sustainability is crucial,” he emphasised, noting that customers are committed to net-zero and sustainability targets. Connectivity is another critical factor: “Without connectivity, these are just castles in the sand. We’re seeing hyperscalers driving a triplication of international capacities, quadrupling terrestrial fibre, which puts immense pressure on connectivity.”

Kamel Al-Tawil echoed this sentiment, he said: “Even if a fraction of the current announcements materialise, we are still set for massive growth.” He pointed to cloud and hyperscale services as dominant market drivers, alongside strong enterprise demand.

Government-led digital transformation initiatives in the region, such as Saudi Vision 2030 and similar efforts in the UAE and Qatar, are attracting significant investment. “UAE currently has a 200MW data centre capacity, projected to triple. Saudi Arabia will follow a similar trajectory,” he added.

On the AI front, Al-Tawil distinguished between AI training and inference workloads, noting that most training occurs in just a few countries. However, he highlighted a growing trend of “sovereign AI” investments in the region, enabling governments to use AI for automation and operational efficiencies. “The key is understanding where demand is coming from and building for that, rather than speculative growth that might not materialise,” he cautioned.

Meta’s Amar Khan urged the industry not to be “distracted by AI hype,” instead focusing on scalable 5MW–30MW data centre deployments that cater to enterprises, governments, and content delivery networks (CDNs).

“The Middle East’s strategic location enables it to serve not just MENA but also underserved markets like Pakistan, with a population of over 200 million,” he stated. Connectivity investments are expanding the region’s role as a global interconnection hub.

He advocated for an “open principles” approach to data centre development, allowing multiple ISPs and networks to interconnect. “We’ve seen how models in Singapore and the US have flourished through neutrality and openness. Vertical integration where telecom operators control everything is outdated,” he argued.

Batelco’s Fuad Mohseni introduced the concept of edge data centres, advocating for a more distributed infrastructure model. “Instead of a handful of 10MW–20MW deployments, we should consider smaller 1MW–2MW edge facilities closer to end users. This is particularly critical for content localisation and gaming, ensuring low-latency experiences.”

Dr Angus Hay, from Africa Data Centres, provided an African perspective, emphasising that connectivity is no longer the main barrier to data centre growth—power and renewable energy are the primary concerns. “The Middle East benefits from its geographical position as a connectivity hub, but the ultimate constraint will be power availability, sustainability, and cost-efficiency,” he stated.

When asked about hyperscalers’ evolving view of the Middle East, Amar Khan identified cheap, abundant power as the region’s key advantage. “Energy costs here are under $0.05 per kWh, which is game-changing,” he noted. However, he warned that inter-country competition could slow progress. “There’s plenty of market share to go around. Cooperation between countries and operators will accelerate growth.”

Mabs Khan reinforced this, pointing out that center3 is actively hosting major hyperscalers in Saudi Arabia. “We’ve seen a shift—hyperscalers now collaborate on subsea cables, such as Meta’s 2Africa cable, which is strategic for the region’s connectivity. Government incentives for land and power also play a crucial role in attracting investment.”

Fuad Mohseni stressed that openness remains a key decision-making factor for hyperscalers. “They no longer want to depend on a single telecom operator. We’re already seeing multi-country deployments rather than a one-country strategy. This trend will only accelerate.”

The discussion turned to AI’s impact on regional data centre strategies. Equinix’s Kamel Al-Tawil highlighted that the UAE has been an AI front-runner, appointing a Minister of AI seven years ago—long before the current AI boom. “AI training requires vast power resources and is limited to a few global locations. The Middle East should focus on AI inference, sovereign AI models, and use cases that deliver economic competitiveness.”

“The real question isn’t whether AI will impact the region, but how we shape investments to capitalise on it,” he said, citing private AI infrastructure initiatives in partnership with Nvidia.

Dr Angus Hay noted that while AI data centre growth has skyrocketed in regions like the US, there’s “no reason the Middle East and Africa can’t become AI hubs.” He added, “The real challenge is convincing global players that we are ready for large-scale AI investments.”

The panel concluded with key takeaways on how data centres are transforming regional connectivity:

• Demand is soaring, driven by hyperscalers, cloud adoption, enterprise digital transformation, and AI.
• Connectivity is no longer the bottleneck—power availability and sustainability will determine long-term success.
• Openness and neutrality in data centre infrastructure are crucial to attracting hyperscaler investments.
• AI investments should be strategic, focusing on inference, sovereign AI, and real-world applications rather than speculative training workloads.

The Middle East is positioned as a key global interconnection hub. With the right investment strategies, regulatory frameworks, and regional collaboration, the panellists agreed that the region can solidify its status as a leader in digital transformation and next-generation data centre development.