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Damac founder pledges $20bn for US data centres

8 January 2025

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UAE-based Damac Properties and Damac Group founder Hussain Sajwani has pledged $20bn to develop data centres across the US.

Sajwani and US President-Elect Donald Trump announced the plan on 7 January in Florida, a day after the US Congress certified Trump as the US 2024 presidential election winner.

Trump said the project’s initial phase covers establishing data centres in Texas, Arizona, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan and Indiana.

Speaking briefly after Trump at a news conference on 7 January, Sajwani said Trump’s successful bid to win the US presidential election in November “has been amazing news for me and my family”.

Trump and Sajwani’s announcement follows a December pledge by the Japanese billionaire investor Masayoshi Son to invest $100bn in the US.

Data centre foray

It was previously reported that the Dubai-based property developer plans to develop $1bn-worth of data centres in countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Damac subsidiary Edgnex is constructing two data centre facilities in Dammam and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia that will deliver 55MW by 2025. There are also plans for a data centre in Amman, Jordan, and another in Turkiye in partnership with Vodafone.

In May, Damac announced its entry into the Indonesian market with plans to build a 15MW data centre in Jakarta. Located along MT Haryono, the facility is scheduled to complete its first construction phase in the fourth quarter of 2025.

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Jennifer Aguinaldo

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