Dubai’s new AI infrastructure push explained

The Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority (DIEZ) and VOLT UAE have formed a strategic joint venture to build a 60,000 square metre AI-ready data centre in Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO), designed to roll out in two phases: an immediate 29 megawatts (MW) of capacity in phase one and a committed expansion of 100 MW thereafter. Schneider Electric will supply advanced energy and infrastructure systems for the development, which the partners say is intended to support high‑performance computing, model training and sovereign AI requirements.

"AI factory capable of transforming energy into computing intelligence," the project announcement said, framing the facility as more than a traditional data centre and as a purpose-built environment for large-scale AI workloads.

Context and partners

The project announcement was made in the presence of senior leadership including Dr Mohammed Al Zarooni, Executive Chairman of DIEZ; Han de Groot, CEO of VOLT; Koenraad Crooijmans, Head of Capital Markets at VOLT; and Amel Chadli, President, Gulf Cluster at Schneider Electric. Under the agreement, DIEZ will provide the land and core infrastructure support while VOLT UAE will lead development, financing, construction and eventual operation of the facility.

• DIEZ: land and core infrastructure support; strategic integration with Dubai Silicon Oasis and broader zone planning.
• VOLT UAE / VOLT: development, financing, construction, leasing and operational oversight across the facility’s lifecycle.
• Schneider Electric: electrical systems, power distribution, monitoring solutions, liquid cooling, and smart infrastructure integration.

The partners say the facility will be engineered with reinforced architecture, redundant systems and hardened infrastructure to ensure continuous availability even under demanding conditions. Project details state the campus will be implemented in two phases: an initial 29 MW of readily available capacity to enable early deployments, followed by an additional 100 MW of committed power to scale computing capability.

Schneider Electric’s technology contribution is described to range from power grid integration to chip-level cooling and energy management, incorporating advanced power systems, liquid cooling solutions, monitoring software and operational management tools intended to reduce energy consumption and operational risk in high‑density AI environments.

Outlook

Officials framed the DIEZ–VOLT UAE partnership as aligned with Dubai’s wider digital strategy, notably the Dubai Economic Agenda D33, and linked the site to the AED11 billion "District IO" expansion within Dubai Silicon Oasis. Dr Mohammed Al Zarooni said the partnership reflected the resilience of Dubai’s economic model and reinforced the UAE leadership’s vision for innovation‑led growth. VOLT’s CEO Han de Groot described the joint venture as a step in the company’s international expansion and highlighted computing capacity as a critical production factor for AI.

With an initial 29 MW ready for early use and a pathway to 129 MW total, the development positions DSO to host enterprise and sovereign AI workloads and to serve as a significant addition to the region’s mission‑critical digital infrastructure as demand for AI‑ready computing accelerates.