Stargate UAE Advances as First Phase Moves Toward a 2026 Launch

Part of a larger 5GW UAE–U.S. AI development corridor, the project has moved deep into construction, supported by large-scale civil works and major technology procurement agreements.

According to a report by The National, over 100,000 cubic meters of concrete have already been poured for the first 200 megawatts of capacity. This initial block represents the opening phase of the 1GW build-out and is intended to serve as a foundational layer for high-density AI and GPU workloads.

Development of the site will be undertaken by G42 through its data-centre subsidiary, Khazna Data Centers. Previously, the company had updated its core infrastructure plans for the initial 200MW phase, which included modular data-center architecture, high-efficiency cooling systems and a multi-vendor hardware strategy that is designed to support next-generation AI accelerators.

The extent of on-site activity has grown as construction continues to advance. Officials speaking at the Milken Institute Middle East and Africa Summit told The National that the project now involves more than 5,000 workers, with activity spread across a 19.2-square-kilometre area in Abu Dhabi. The project includes a steel load estimated to weigh about one and a half times the Eiffel Tower, illustrating the scale of the structural work underway.

Work on Phase 1 is targeting a clear delivery window. Comments from Mubadala's leadership place the expected completion of the first 200MW block in the third quarter of 2026. This timeline aligns with the overarching target for bringing initial compute capacity online to support the UAE's growing AI ecosystem.

The broader significance of Stargate UAE also rests on its hardware pipeline. The UAE has secured U.S. approval to import a large tranche of Nvidia’s Blackwell-generation AI processors, with the shipment widely reported as covering around 35,000 units that will form a core part of the facility’s compute supply.

G42's roadmap for the cluster highlights a longer-term horizon extending well beyond the first 200MW. The full installation of 1GW is designed to support large-batch model training, inference scaling and enterprise AI workloads across sectors like healthcare, government services, energy modeling, and logistics. The UAE intends to create compute density at a scale currently concentrated in the United States and parts of Asia.

The strategic framework around the project also includes a network of global technology partnerships. G42 listed companies including OpenAI, Oracle, Cisco, SoftBank and Nvidia as collaborators across various components of the wider 5GW UAE–U.S. AI Campus, reflecting a model in which compute, cloud infrastructure and model-training expertise converge in one regional hub.

Construction continues with structural assembly, continuous concrete pouring and the deployment of heavy-lift equipment on a round-the-clock schedule as work progresses across the 19.2-square-kilometre site. The project is structured to scale in sequential blocks, allowing capacity to come online in stages rather than all at once.

Once complete, the 1GW cluster is set to be one of the largest AI-focused compute installations outside of the US and China. With the first 200MW slated to be completed in Q3 2026 and subsequent phases rolling out thereafter, the UAE is positioning Stargate as one of the cornerstones in its broader digital infrastructure strategy.

Considered in the context of rapid civil-works progress, confirmed hardware supply, and a defined commissioning timeline for 2026, this gives the clearest picture yet of the position of the project. For a country prioritizing artificial intelligence as a national growth pillar, developments in Abu Dhabi suggest large-scale, locally hosted compute capacity is transitioning from strategic vision to physical reality.