DAMAC Chief Hussain Sajwani Turns to AI Data Centers in $66 Billion Push

DUBAI,— The billionaire founder of Dubai-based real estate firm DAMAC Properties is shifting his focus toward artificial intelligence infrastructure, pouring tens of billions of dollars into data centers across three continents in a bid to become the world’s dominant player in the field.

Hussain Sajwani, chairman of DAMAC Properties and ranked second on Forbes’ Arab rich list with a net worth of $15.3 billion, told AFP he sees enormous potential in data centers as global demand for computing power continues to climb.

Speaking by video call from the Datacloud Global Congress in Cannes, Sajwani said the idea took shape during the COVID-19 pandemic, long before OpenAI’s launch of ChatGPT in late 2022 sparked widespread interest in artificial intelligence.

Sajwani told AFP that being confined at home during the pandemic lockdowns left him spending countless hours on video conferencing platforms, which made him realize how rapidly digital businesses were expanding.

He said it became clear to him that companies built around e-commerce and remote communication tools were positioned for significant long-term growth.

He said he recognized early that data centers would become a critical part of the economy, though he admitted the pace of expansion in the sector went far beyond anything he had initially imagined.

Sajwani, who attended U.S. President Donald Trump’s 2025 inauguration, has identified sites in 13 countries across North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

If completed, the projects would deliver a combined capacity of 6,000 megawatts at a total cost of roughly $66 billion.

DAMAC Digital, the company’s technology infrastructure arm launched in 2021, has already completed facilities in Thailand and Saudi Arabia.

Eight sites in total are expected to be operational by the end of this year. Additional locations are planned in Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Turkey, Greece, Spain, Italy, Finland, Sweden and the United Arab Emirates.

Five major hyperscalers, large-scale cloud and AI service providers such as Amazon, Microsoft and Google, have signed on as clients, though Sajwani said he could not disclose their identities.

Sajwani said DAMAC Digital is on track to surpass DAMAC Properties as the largest unit within his broader business group, which also includes investment and logistics operations.

His rise in real estate came from a combination of timing and strategy.

He began in catering before moving into property development in the 1990s, positioning himself ahead of a major boom when Dubai opened its market to foreign buyers in 2002.

After surviving heavy losses during the 2008 global financial crisis, DAMAC has built 60,000 properties, with another 60,000 currently under construction across about a dozen countries.

In 2017, Sajwani opened the Trump International Golf Club in Dubai. Early last year, he appeared alongside Trump at a ceremony to announce a $20 billion investment in U.S. data centers.

Sajwani said regional conflict has not slowed his expansion. Drone attacks struck data center facilities in the UAE and Bahrain during an early period of Iranian attacks in the region.

He said the decision to invest in data centers was made years ago and the company has stayed that course without hesitation.

He added that the conflict demonstrated the strength of the UAE’s defenses and the effectiveness of its government in protecting the country.

He dismissed concerns over an AI bubble or oversupply risk, saying demand will remain strong over the next three to four years.

Sajwani said artificial intelligence is on course to bring sweeping change to nearly every dimension of how people live and work.

His long-term target is to surpass Equinix, currently the world’s largest data center operator with more than 280 sites globally.

Sajwani told AFP his company’s goal is to climb past that benchmark and claim the top position in the global data center industry.

(With files from AFP)

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