ABU DHABI, Sept. 11 (Reuters) — The United Arab Emirates is revising plans for a 5-gigawatt artificial intelligence data center project following the Iran war, as authorities reassess how and where critical digital infrastructure should be built, according to six people familiar with the matter.
The project, initially planned as a roughly 10-square-mile (26-square-kilometer) campus in Abu Dhabi, is now likely to be developed as a network of data centers located across different parts of the UAE, four of the sources said.
The sources, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the plans publicly, said Emirati authorities are also examining additional measures to protect the facilities from potential drone and missile attacks.
Those measures could include enhanced air-defense systems and the construction of some data center facilities underground, according to the people familiar with the discussions.
The potential changes to the project’s original design have not previously been reported. It remains unclear how close the UAE is to approving a revised master plan or how the changes could affect the project’s construction costs and schedule.
AI DATA CENTER PROJECT AT HEART OF UAE’S TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY
The planned UAE-US AI Campus is a major component of the country’s strategy to establish itself as a global artificial intelligence hub while reducing its long-term reliance on oil revenues.
The project was announced during former U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to the UAE last year and is being developed in partnership with major American technology companies.
It is led by G42, the UAE-based artificial intelligence company controlled by Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed al Nahyan, the country’s national security adviser and brother of UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
As part of a broader agreement with Washington, the UAE committed to limiting its artificial intelligence links with China in exchange for greater access to advanced U.S. technology, including Nvidia AI chips.
The UAE also agreed to invest in Stargate, an initiative involving OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank that aims to develop large-scale AI infrastructure in the United States.
The people who spoke to Reuters included a U.S. official, a Western diplomat and technology industry executives who had been briefed on the discussions.
STARGATE UAE CONSTRUCTION ALREADY UNDERWAY
The broader project includes Stargate UAE, a $30 billion, 1-gigawatt computing cluster whose construction began last year.
The first 200 megawatts of capacity are expected to become operational this year. Once fully developed, the facility is expected to provide enough computing capacity to support access to advanced AI models across UAE government agencies and commercial institutions.
Oracle Chairman and Chief Technology Officer Larry Ellison, whose company is working with G42 on the project, has described the planned infrastructure as capable of connecting every UAE government agency and commercial institution to the world’s most advanced AI models.
The reassessment highlights the growing security challenges facing Gulf states as they invest heavily in AI, cloud computing and other strategic digital infrastructure. The region’s recent exposure to missile and drone threats has also increased attention on the physical security and resilience of facilities that are becoming increasingly important to national economies and government operations.
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/uae-revises-ai-data-center-plan-after-iranian-attacks-sources-say-2026-09-11/
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