Hussain Sajwani, the billionaire founder of Dubai developer Damac Properties, will invest $1 billion to build a global network of cloud data centres as the conglomerate diversifies its operations to include the fast-growing digital sector.
“We’re going to build data centres in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and CIS,” Mr Sajwani recently told CNBC.
“We want to build a global company and we’re allocating $1bn for that business, and we’re going global to put our footprint in all those four continents,” he added.
The good part about data centres is that your clients are hyperscalers like Microsoft, Amazon, Google, or big banks and institutions
Hussain Sajwani,
founder of Damac Properties
CIS refers to the Commonwealth of Independent States, which comprises Russia and other republics that were formerly part of the Soviet Union.
Demand for data centre infrastructure has grown amid the pandemic as companies increasingly move their business to the cloud amid the disruption caused by Covid-19.
The Middle East and Africa market is among the top three regions worldwide where the public cloud services domain is experiencing the fastest growth, according to International Data Corporation.
Spending on public cloud services in the region is expected to surge to $11.6bn by 2025, growing at an annual rate of 25.5 per cent, IDC said. The UAE, Saudi Arabia and South Africa remain the three biggest markets within the region for spending on cloud, it added.
Mr Sajwani's data centre plan will be part of Edgnex, a wholly owned digital infrastructure company that he founded. He is the venture's chairman.
Damac Properties announced earlier this month that it will officially delist from the Dubai Financial Market after the move was approved at the company’s general assembly meeting.
The meeting approved “the conversion of the legal form of the company from a public joint stock company to a private joint stock company” and authorised the chairman of the board to sign all necessary documents, Damac said in a statement to the DFM on March 7.
Maple Invest, a vehicle fully owned by Mr Sajwani, submitted a notice last year for the mandatory acquisition of all its shares and to take the company private.
The data centres are a natural progression for Mr Sajwani's business, he said.
“The good part about data centres is that your clients are hyperscalers like Microsoft, Amazon, Google, or big banks and institutions. Your contracts are typically for five to 10 years, so you have recurring income. You build an asset with high growth,” he told CNBC.
The data centre idea occurred to Mr Sajwani during the Covid-19 movement restrictions in April and May 2020, he added.
Edgnex has earmarked five plots to develop data centres, including three in Saudi Arabia, two in Turkey and one in Ireland.
“We have the cash to inject and have hired a very good team. We can build data centres at a more reasonable cost than our competitors,” Mr Sajwani said.
“We understand construction much better than our competitors, who are large US private companies. We have worked in emerging markets like the Middle East, while their knowledge in these markets is more limited.”
Edgnex also plans to roll out smaller data centres in the coming years, targeting a market expected to be worth $13.5bn by 2024, according to a recent study by PwC.
In recent years, major technology companies have expanded into the Middle East in the data centre and cloud computing market.
Amazon Web Services will open three data centres in the UAE in the first half of this year to tap into the burgeoning demand for cloud services in the country.
The new centres will enable the company to expand its data storage offering to public and private enterprises, start-ups and educational institutions. In 2019, the Seattle-based company, founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos, opened three data centres in Bahrain.
Other technology companies that have established data centres in the Middle East include SAP, Microsoft, Alibaba and Oracle.
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Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
The five pillars of Islam
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The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
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The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
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THE BIO:
Favourite holiday destination: Thailand. I go every year and I’m obsessed with the fitness camps there.
Favourite book: Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. It’s an amazing story about barefoot running.
Favourite film: A League of their Own. I used to love watching it in my granny’s house when I was seven.
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Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
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Match info
Bournemouth 0
Liverpool 4 (Salah 25', 48', 76', Cook 68' OG)
Man of the match: Andrew Robertson (Liverpool)
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