Damac's $66bn Data-Centre Gamble: Can a UAE Property Giant Topple Equinix?

Damac's AI-era pivot and what it means for UAE real estate

UAE real estate investors are watching as DAMAC chairman Hussain Sajwani pivots from luxury property to hyperscale data centres, betting that the AI boom will rewrite demand for computing capacity. The plan is bold: a global landbank with enough infrastructure to support 6,000 megawatts of capacity and an estimated $66 billion in construction costs. That single figure is large enough to reshape capital allocations in both the regional property market and the wider data infrastructure business.

Within the first two sentences you should get the main takeaway: DAMAC is converting property muscle into digital muscle. In our analysis this is impressive but risky — and it alters how investors should view UAE property, industrial land and infrastructure opportunities.

Who is Hussain Sajwani and why his move matters

Hussain Sajwani is best known to many as a Dubai property magnate who built DAMAC Properties into a major developer. Forbes values his net worth at $15.3 billion. DAMAC has completed 60,000 properties and has another 60,000 under construction. But Sajwani has been repositioning the group since 2021, when DAMAC Digital was created to develop data centres.

Key facts from his announcement and interviews:

• DAMAC has earmarked sites in 13 countries, including Turkey, Greece, Spain, Italy, UAE, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Finland and Sweden.
• The total planned capacity across those sites is 6,000 megawatts of landbank suitable for data centres.
• Estimated build cost is roughly $66 billion.
• DAMAC Digital has completed sites in Thailand and Saudi Arabia, with eight sites expected to be operational by the end of the year.
• Sajwani said five hyperscalers have already signed as clients.

Sajwani's pitch is that the AI-driven demand for compute and storage will outstrip supply. He said the idea emerged during the Covid lockdowns and accelerated after ChatGPT's launch in late 2022. He dismissed concerns about oversupply and the AI bubble, calling demand for the next three to four years "huge." He also said he wants DAMAC to be "top in the world" and overtake current industry leader Equinix.

The scale: why 6,000MW and $66bn matter

Data-centre capacity is measured in megawatts because power consumption is the key constraint and the main driver of capital and operating costs. To make the numbers tangible:

• 6,000 megawatts is several times the footprint of a large established operator. For context, many single large hyperscale campuses are in the tens to low hundreds of megawatts.
• $66 billion of build cost implies average capital intensity of about $11,000 per kilowatt if applied uniformly, though actual costs will vary by country, land, power and cooling needs.

Why investors should care:

• A move of this size will require long-term power supply agreements, major fibre backhaul, and complex permitting across multiple jurisdictions. Those elements affect land values, industrial leasing markets and the economics of adjacent property sectors.
• If DAMAC converts significant portions of its landbank from residential or mixed-use projects to data campus infrastructure, it will change the supply dynamics of the Dubai and UAE property market.

How this pivot changes the UAE property market and investor opportunities

We see multiple channels where DAMAC's data-centre ambitions are already influencing the UAE real estate market:

1. Industrial land and logistics: Demand for secure, high-power industrial plots near substations and fibre nodes will increase. Investors in industrial property may see rising rents and land prices.
2. Co-location and specialist construction: Local construction firms, mechanical-electrical contractors and facilities managers stand to gain from long-term maintenance contracts.
3. Commercial and residential spillover: Data-centre clusters create demand for executive housing, hotels and professional services near campuses — though such demand is narrower than for traditional office-led clusters.
4. Capital allocation away from pure residential development: The scale of planned data investments suggests DAMAC is shifting risk exposure from speculative housing projects to long-term infrastructure assets that typically have different return profiles.

For expatriate buyers and portfolio investors this creates practical opportunities:

• Consider industrial and logistics assets with resilient tenant demand and the technical prerequisites for data-centre adjacency: high-voltage substations, dark fibre access, and disaster-resilience.
• Track power purchase agreements (PPAs) and renewable-energy plans, because energy costs are the largest operating expense for data centres.
• Monitor zoning and permitting changes: regulators may tighten security, grid access and environmental rules as data-centre density rises.

Technical and economic realities: power, connectivity and clients

Data centres are not just buildings; they are integrated systems that rely on three constrained inputs:

• Power: Reliable, high-capacity electricity is non-negotiable. Sajwani's reference to "landbank" with power and fibre connectivity means DAMAC is assembling sites where grid capacity and fibre routes are pre-existing or routable.
• Connectivity: Hyperscalers require vast amounts of network redundancy and low-latency routes. Landing cables and metro-fibre matter.
• Clients and contracts: The presence of five hyperscalers as anchor clients is a big claim. Hyperscalers typically demand specific standards, long-term commitments and strict uptime clauses.

A few practical implications for investors and developers:

• Power procurement is a strategic asset. Long-term PPAs and on-site generation mix will determine margin stability.
• Energy efficiency and cooling technology choices will affect both capital and operating costs. In hotter climates like the UAE, cooling can dominate energy use unless advanced techniques are applied.
• Security and insurance costs will rise in regions with elevated geopolitical risk; Sajwani acknowledged drone attacks on regional data centres but described the UAE as resilient.

Competition and the global market: can DAMAC unseat Equinix?

Equinix is the world leader with over 280 sites. DAMAC's claim to overtake them is ambitious. Key factors that will determine whether DAMAC can become the largest provider are:

• Speed of delivery: Building, powering and certifying data centres is slow and capital-intensive.