The UAE is revising plans for a 5-gigawatt artificial intelligence data center project, potentially shifting from a single Abu Dhabi campus to a network of facilities across the country, according to people familiar with the plans cited by Reuters.
The project was initially designed as a 10-square-mile campus. Authorities are now considering measures including air defense systems, electronic jamming equipment, blast-resistant concrete and underground construction to protect the infrastructure from drone and missile attacks.
The first phase, a $30 billion, 1-gigawatt computing cluster known as Stargate UAE, began construction last year. Its first 200 megawatts are expected to come online this year. The broader project is being developed by G42 with US technology companies including Nvidia, OpenAI, Oracle and Cisco.
G42 said work was progressing as planned, while noting that the project’s specifications are under continuous review to meet the security and resilience requirements for critical infrastructure. OpenAI said it was making good progress on infrastructure and adoption priorities.
Sources said the first phase is expected to continue, potentially with modifications, while future capacity may be distributed across multiple locations. Reuters could not determine whether the changes would affect the project’s cost or timeline.
Source: Reuters
