GCC’s top five data centre projects
26 February 2025

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Over the past few weeks, tech companies and data centre operators have announced multibillion-dollars’ worth of planned investments in data centre projects and related digital infrastructure.
Companies such as Riyadh-based DataVolt, Ezditek and Al-Moammer Information Systems and Dubai-headquartered Gulf Data Hub have signed agreements to develop artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled data centre facilities, primarily in Saudi Arabia.
Telecom companies such as Qatar’s Ooredoo, Saudi Arabia’s STC and the UAE’s Du and E& are continuing the expansion of their data centre facilities, while firms such as the UAE’s Khazna Data Centres plan to expand their capacity at home and abroad.
The scale of data centre projects coming to the market over the next few years or months is unprecedented.
Between 2020 and 2024, the GCC states awarded an average of $1.2bn of data centre construction contracts annually, which is the equivalent of the cost of just one thermal power plant with roughly 1GW of capacity.
The GCC region’s average data centre contract award value over this five-year window equated to a mere 0.48% of total contracts awarded in 2024, a record year, of $264bn.
This is expected to change with the announcement of new projects or ongoing schemes that aim to meet the region’s growing demand for cloud services and AI-based applications.
Related read: Region poised for huge investment in data centres
According to the latest available data from regional projects tracker MEED Projects, close to $7bn-worth of data centre projects are under construction, while some $13bn are in the pre-execution phase.
Here, MEED presents a summary of the top five projects that are planned or under execution.
DataVolt and Neom data centre project phase 1
Saudi gigaproject developer Neom and Saudi Arabia-based DataVolt, a developer, investor and operator of data centres, signed an agreement in January to develop a major data centre infrastructure in Oxagon, Neom’s industrial cluster.
Funded by an investment of about $5bn, the 1.5GW first phase of the project is expected to be operational by 2028. Neom expects the facility to be entirely powered by renewable energy, providing a fully integrated, end-to-end data centre solution.
The project will utilise advanced cooling technologies and is designed to operate at net-zero carbon emissions, addressing the global challenges of power availability and the carbon footprint posed by data centres.
Amazon Web Services Saudi Arabia Zone
In March 2024, US-headquartered Amazon Web Services (AWS) launched a plan for a new AWS Region in Saudi Arabia in 2026 as part of its long-term commitment to invest more than $5.3bn in the kingdom.
The planned AWS Region in Saudi Arabia will comprise three availability zones, or a data centre infrastructure in separate and distinct locations “far enough from each other to support customers’ business continuity, but near enough to provide low latency for high availability applications”.
Each availability zone has independent power, cooling and physical security and is connected “through redundant, ultra-low-latency networks”. The new AWS Region aims to provide options for various companies and organisations to run their applications and serve end users from data centres located in Saudi Arabia, “ensuring that customers who want to keep their content in-country can do so”.
Khazna 100MW data centre in Ajman
London-headquartered construction firm Laing O’Rourke has started construction on a new data centre in Ajman, UAE, which is being developed by UAE-based data centre and cloud services provider Khazna Data Centres.
The multibillion-dirham project will be the UAE’s largest AI-enhanced data centre, with an expected capacity of 100MW. Expected to be completed next year, the planned Tier 3 data centre project will cover an area of 100,000 square metres and will include 20 data halls, each with a capacity of 5MW.
Desert Dragon
Riyadh-headquartered data centre developer ICS Arabia is expected to start construction works imminently on the first of three data centres it plans to develop in Saudi Arabia. The cluster’s first data centre, Desert Dragon, is located in Al-Kharj, southeast of the capital Riyadh.
The 65MW data centre aims to achieve a Tier 3-level certification. ICS Arabia said in September last year, when it announced breaking ground on the projects, that the first data centre was expected to become operational in 2026.
The project’s second phase, a 50MW data centre in Jeddah, is expected to begin construction this February, with a target operations date in the fourth quarter of 2026. The project’s third phase will encompass 72MW facilities in Dammam and Neom. Construction is expected to commence in September.
The firm is developing the project in a joint venture with Shanghai-based Lumaotong Group and China Mobile International. The joint venture plans to invest a total of $1.9bn in the projects.
Ezditek 64MW Riyadh data centre
Ezdihar Advanced Company for Information Technology (EzdiTek) is undertaking the construction of a 64MW data centre project in Riyadh’s Al-Jenadriyah Technical Zone, Saudi Arabia.
The planned cloud-based data centre facility will have a capacity of 64MW, requiring an investment of around AED2.64bn. The land allocated for Ezditek’s data centre project is 55,000 square metres.
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Veolia wins Jordan water services contract18 February 2026
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France's Veolia has signed a four-year performance-based management contract with the Water Authority of Jordan to support water and wastewater services in the country’s northern governorates.
Under the contract, Veolia will provide operations, maintenance and management services to Yarmouk Water Company, the public utility responsible for water supply and wastewater services in the region.
The agreement covers Irbid, Jerash, Ajloun and Mafraq, an area spanning nearly 30,000 square kilometres and covering about 3 million people.
The scope includes water and wastewater operations, maintenance, billing and collection, and customer service.
According to the firm, the performance-based structure prioritises measurable improvements, including service delivery, cost efficiency and revenue management.
The company said it will deploy technical and management specialists to support operations, rehabilitation works and investment initiatives.
The contract builds on Veolia’s existing operational role in Jordan’s water sector. The company operates the Disi-Amman scheme, which supplies about 100 million cubic metres of drinking water a year, under an operations and maintenance contract.
It also operates the Al-Samra wastewater treatment plant, which produces about 133 million cubic metres of treated wastewater annually for agricultural reuse.
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PIF-backed firm signs worker accommodation deal17 February 2026
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Saudi Arabia's Smart Accommodation for Residential Complexes Company (Sarcc) has signed an agreement with Riyadh-based Mawref Company to develop a 12,000-bed worker accommodation project in North Riyadh.
The project will cover about 120,000 square metres (sq m), with a total built-up area of 150,000 sq m.
The development is expected to cost over SR669m ($178m), with the first phase slated for completion in 2029.
Sarcc is backed by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), the Saudi sovereign wealth vehicle.
The agreement follows Sarcc signing another agreement in September last year with privately-owned local firm Tamimi Global Company to explore collaboration in developing worker accommodation facilities in the kingdom.
The PIF launched Sarcc in October 2024 with the aim of developing and operating staff housing and accommodation assets in the kingdom.
Sarcc will develop and operate the staff accommodation facilities at major construction projects in Saudi Arabia.
The company will seek opportunities to invest in the sector to strengthen staff housing standards. Sarcc will also look to engage the private sector by enabling investment and partnership opportunities in sectors including construction, catering, transportation and retail.
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KBR wins 10-year maintenance contract from Petro Rabigh17 February 2026
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Saudi Arabia's Rabigh Refining & Petrochemical Company (Petro Rabigh) has awarded US-based consultant KBR a 10-year contract to provide maintenance services covering the company’s polymer plants in Rabigh, on the kingdom’s Red Sea coast.
“This [contract award] marks a major step in Petro Rabigh’s transformation journey, supporting safer operations, stronger reliability and long-term improvement across its facilities,” Petro Rabigh said in , without providing further details.
Work on the operations and maintenance contract will be executed by KBR’s business line, which operates under the Houston-headquartered firm’s Technology Solutions portfolio, sources told MEED.
Prior to this contract, in March 2024, Petro Rabigh awarded KBR a similar five-year asset condition monitoring programme contract. As part of that job, KBR is to provide predictive maintenance services at Petro Rabigh’s main plant.
Petro Rabigh was originally established in 1989 as a basic topping refinery with crude oil processing facilities, located in Rabigh, 165 kilometres to the north of Jeddah in Mecca Province.
Saudi Aramco and Japan’s Sumitomo Chemical Company formed an equal joint venture in 2005 to transform the Petro Rabigh crude oil refining complex into an integrated refinery and petrochemicals complex, with the strategic objective of expanding Saudi Arabia’s annual production capacity of refined products and petrochemicals.
Three years after the creation of the Petro Rabigh joint venture, the partners floated 25% of its shares in an initial public offering on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) in 2008, following which Aramco and Sumitomo Chemical each held 37.5% shares in Petro Rabigh, with the remaining shares listing on the Tadawul.
In October last year, however, Aramco completed the acquisition of an additional 22.5% stake in Petro Rabigh from Sumitomo Chemical. Following the completion of the transaction, valued at $702m or SR7 a share, Aramco became the majority shareholder in Petro Rabigh, with an equity stake of 60%, while Sumitomo retains an interest of 15%. The remaining 25% shares of Petro Rabigh continue to trade on the Tadawul.
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Following the formation of the Petro Rabigh joint venture in 2005, Aramco and Sumitomo Chemical launched the expansion of the refining facility into an integrated refining and petrochemicals complex in 2006, investing $9.8bn in the project, 60% of which was secured through external financing. Engineering, procurement and construction works on phase one were completed in 2009, with the integrated downstream complex entering operations in November of that year.
The Petro Rabigh downstream complex consists of a topping refinery that has a 340,000 barrel-a-day (b/d) crude distillation unit, a 47,000 b/d hydrotreater, a 12 million cubic-feet-a-day hydrogen plant, a 75,000 b/d naphtha merox unit and a 60,000 b/d kerosene merox unit, along with supporting utilities, product tankage and a marine terminal.
Aramco and Sumitomo Chemical initiated Petro Rabigh’s phase two expansion project, valued at $8bn, in 2014. The second expansion phase was commissioned in 2018 and added 15 chemicals plants to the Petro Rabigh complex, raising the facility’s total production capacity to 18.4 million tonnes a year (t/y) of petroleum-based products.
The expansion also increased Petro Rabigh’s capacity to process an additional 30 million cubic feet a year of ethane into 2.4 million t/y of ethylene and propylene-based derivatives, and achieved a naphtha output of 3 million t/y.
Expansion of the main existing chemicals plant and the establishment of a clean fuels complex comprising polyether polyols, naphtha treating and sulphur recovery units were also part of the phase two project.
Photo credit: Petro Rabigh on LinkedIn
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Bidders await NWC decision on sewage contract17 February 2026

Saudi Arabia’s National Water Company (NWC) is evaluating five bids for package 12 of its long-term operations and maintenance (LTOM12) sewage treatment programme.
Known as the North Western B Cluster, LTOM12 forms part of the second phase of NWC’s rehabilitation of sewage treatment plants programme.
The contract covers the construction and upgrade of seven sewage treatment plants with a combined capacity of about 162,000 cubic metres a day (cm/d).
As MEED understands, the companies that have submitted proposals include:
- Alkhorayef Water & Power Technologies (Saudi Arabia)
- Civil Works Company (Saudi Arabia)
- Miahona (Saudi Arabia)
- Beijing Enterprises Water Group – BEWG (Hong Kong)
- Al-Yamama (Saudi Arabia)
Earlier this month, MEED exclusively reported that six contractors are competing for the North Western A Cluster Sewage Treatment Plants Package 11 (LTOM11), which has an estimated value of about $211m.
The project involves the construction and upgrade of two sewage treatment plants with a combined capacity of about 440,000 cm/d.
The scheme is being procured on an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) basis with a long-term operations component.
It is understood that contracts for LTOM11 and LTOM12 will be awarded in May.
In January, a consortium of United Water (China), Prosus Energy (UAE) and Armada Holding (Saudi Arabia) won the main contract for the Northern Cluster Sewage Treatment Plants Package 10 (LTOM10).
This contract was the first to be awarded under the second phase of NWC’s rehabilitation of sewage treatment plants programme.
NWC previously awarded $2.7bn-worth of contracts for the first phase of its LTOM programme. This comprises nine packages covering the treatment of 4.6 million cm/d of sewage water for the next 15 years.
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Lamprell wins Dubai’s Margham gas plant expansion contract17 February 2026
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Dubai Petroleum has awarded Lamprell a contract for a project covering the expansion of the Margham gas storage and processing facility, which is operated by state-owned Dubai Supply Authority (Dusup).
Lamprell’s scope of work on the contract includes engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of civil works, pipe rack structures and associated infrastructure installation. Work on the contract will be delivered by Lamprell’s onshore division.
The contract awarded to Lamprell by Dubai government-owned Dubai Petroleum forms part of a wider project known as the Sunrise development programme. The aim of the scheme is “to support future capacity enhancements required to meet projected gas demand and the integration of renewable energy sources for end users across the [UAE],” Lamprell said in a statement.
Lamprell is primarily a contractor and services provider in the offshore oil and gas and wind energy sectors, with its main clients including Saudi Aramco, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) and QatarEnergy. The company has operational bases in Dammam and Ras Al-Khair in Saudi Arabia, while its bases in the UAE are in Hamriyah in Sharjah and Jebeli Ali Free Zone in Dubai.
The company was previously listed on the London Stock Exchange, from where it delisted following a takeover offer from a consortium of Blofeld Investment Management and AlGihaz Holding for its Saudi Arabia business in 2022. AlGihaz Holding later took full ownership of Lamprell.
“Expanding our onshore EPC capability is a key pillar of Lamprell’s strategy, and this award directly supports that objective,” Ian Prescott, Lamprell’s CEO, said.
“We appreciate the confidence [Dubai Petroleum] has placed in Lamprell and look forward to working with our long-standing, valued client. Delivering critical energy infrastructure in the UAE strengthens our onshore portfolio, demonstrates local execution capability and positions the business for further growth in this market,” Prescott said.
The Margham gas field and associated processing plant are located on the Dubai-Hatta road. It is the largest gas field onshore Dubai. The field contains three gas-bearing geological formations more than 10,000 feet below the surface.
The Margham field came online in 1984 and has been developed with production and injection gas wells that are connected through a gathering system to the processing plant.
Initially, the gas was processed to remove water for disposal and condensate for sale and the dry gas was reinjected into the reservoir. At present, the dry gas is sent by pipeline to the Dubai gas grid.
The gas plant separates the heavier hydrocarbons components and formation water from the gas through a series of cooling, pressure reduction and phase separation steps.
The remaining gas stream, substantially free of liquid components, can be either flowed directly to the Dubai gas grid or compressed to a higher pressure if required.
The raw condensate is brought to product specification by further removal of water and stabilised by distillation. The stabilised condensate is moved by pipeline to Dubai’s main crude oil refinery at Jebel Ali.
The Margham field has functioned as a strategic gas storage facility for Dubai since 2008, with the ability to inject gas into the reservoir or produce gas to meet Dubai’s seasonal fuel gas requirements.
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