DAMAC Digital Expands Data Center Footprint to 6,000 MW Across 13 Countries

DAMAC Digital said its planned IT capacity landbank has reached 6,000 megawatts across 13 countries, adding momentum to the Dubai-based company’s global expansion as AI and cloud computing fuel demand for new data center capacity.

DAMAC Digital disclosed the figure as it joined Datacloud Global Congress 2026 in Cannes, France, an event that brings together data center operators, hyperscalers, investors and energy providers as the sector races to secure land, power and cooling capacity for next-generation workloads.

The company’s planned portfolio now includes more than 35 sites across North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. The digital infrastructure company said the pipeline is aimed at supporting artificial intelligence, cloud computing, hyperscale deployments and broader digital infrastructure demand.

DAMAC Digital Sets 2028 Capacity Target

DAMAC Digital said it is targeting 2 GW of operational capacity by the end of the first quarter of 2028. The company also said it has broken ground on 10 new sites over the past five months and expects eight sites to be operational by the end of 2026.

The firm has set an interim target of more than 700 MW of operational capacity across more than 14 sites by the first quarter of 2027, alongside existing operational capacity in Saudi Arabia and Thailand.

The expansion plan underscores how quickly digital infrastructure companies are trying to turn land and power pipelines into live data center capacity. In data center development, planned capacity and operational capacity are not the same: planned capacity reflects the scale of a future development pipeline, while operational capacity refers to facilities that are live or ready to serve customers.

AI Growth Drives Data Center Demand

DAMAC Digital linked the expansion to demand from hyperscalers, cloud service providers, enterprises and AI-driven workloads. The company said it has signed partnerships with five global hyperscalers.

The company’s current and planned markets include Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey and the Nordic region in Europe, alongside Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines in Asia. DAMAC Digital said the broader portfolio is designed to support high-density computing, national digital transformation programs and demand for sovereign digital infrastructure.

Its expansion comes as global data center electricity needs are expected to rise sharply. The International Energy Agency has projected that global electricity consumption from data centers could roughly double to about 945 terawatt-hours by 2030, with AI identified as one of the key drivers. That outlook has made access to grid capacity, energy procurement and cooling technology central considerations for operators seeking to scale.

AI Capacity Plans Put Cooling in Focus

DAMAC Digital said more than 90% of its data centers are designed with liquid cooling infrastructure. Those facilities are being built to support high-density AI accelerators, including NVIDIA’s Vera Rubin platform.

Liquid cooling has become increasingly important as AI workloads push up rack densities and place additional pressure on traditional air-cooling systems. While cloud and AI customers are driving demand for capacity, developers must also manage long lead times for power connections, equipment procurement, permitting and land-use approvals.

DAMAC Digital describes its hyperscale data centers as infrastructure designed for AI, cloud and enterprise applications, with scalable power and space solutions, carrier-neutral connectivity and high-density rack configurations.

EDGNEX Rebrand Sets Up DAMAC Digital

DAMAC Group formally rebranded EDGNEX Data Centers by DAMAC as DAMAC Digital in June 2025. The group said the rebrand reflected a stronger focus on AI-ready infrastructure and global digital infrastructure development.

The data center arm was founded in 2021 and began with a 12 MW campus. DAMAC Group has framed the unit as an extension of its real estate, construction and international investment experience, particularly in securing sites and managing large-scale development.

That background is relevant because data center expansion increasingly resembles a complex real estate and infrastructure race. Developers need access to land, power, fiber connectivity and construction capacity before they can compete for large enterprise and hyperscale customers.

U.S. Expansion Adds to Global Strategy

The latest 6,000 MW figure also builds on previously announced U.S. plans. In January 2025, EDGNEX Data Centers by DAMAC said it would enter the U.S. market with a projected 2,000 MW of future data center capacity and an initial $20 billion investment. That announcement identified Sunbelt and Midwest states, including Texas, Arizona, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan and Indiana, as areas of focus.

DAMAC Digital’s expansion forms part of the group’s wider push into global digital infrastructure, with data centers becoming a more visible part of its international growth strategy. The scale of the pipeline also points to the growing role of Middle East-based capital in the global AI infrastructure buildout.

Power and Sites Drive Expansion Race

The central challenge for DAMAC Digital will be execution. A 6,000 MW planned landbank signals ambition, but converting a pipeline of that size into operational capacity depends on power availability, grid connections, construction timelines, permitting and customer commitments.

Data center operators are also under increasing scrutiny over energy and water consumption, particularly as AI infrastructure expands. The IEA’s projections show why governments, utilities and developers are treating data centers as strategic infrastructure rather than simply another real estate asset class.

DAMAC Digital’s announcement suggests the company wants to compete in that top tier of global infrastructure providers.