Damac has secured $12 billion in land and power capacity for U.S. AI data centers, moving past the halfway mark of its planned $20 billion investment.
Damac Properties has secured land and power capacity in the United States equivalent to about $12 billion of a planned $20 billion investment in artificial intelligence data center infrastructure, marking significant progress in its push into digital assets.
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Hussain Sajwani, chairman of the Dubai-based conglomerate, said projects identified so far represent roughly 1 gigawatt (GW) of capacity, placing the company “more than halfway” toward its previously announced US investment target.
“We have about 1GW of land today, which, if you translate into total investment, would be about $12 billion,” Sajwani said in an interview with CNBC on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos. He added that reaching the full $20 billion investment would take “two to four years,” depending on execution and market conditions.
A gigawatt measures the amount of electrical power that can be supported by the acquired land—one of the most critical constraints for AI and cloud data centers, which require vast, reliable energy supplies. Power availability has become a defining factor in where hyperscale facilities can be built, as AI workloads drive a sharp increase in electricity demand.
Sajwani’s comments update a plan unveiled in early 2025, when he appeared alongside US President Donald Trump to announce that Damac would invest “at least” $20 billion in US data centers through its digital infrastructure arm, Edgnex. At the time, Trump praised the commitment, calling it a boost to America’s position in advanced technology and artificial intelligence.
While Trump suggested the investment could ultimately exceed the initial pledge, Damac has said any expansion beyond $20 billion would depend on market dynamics and returns.
Sajwani said the company has already acquired land in Ohio and New Jersey and is assessing additional sites in Texas, prioritizing regions with robust grid infrastructure and strong demand from cloud and AI operators.
“Data centers are about power,” Sajwani said, describing electricity access as the single most important variable in project selection.
The US remains the world’s largest data center market by a wide margin, Sajwani said, estimating it to be roughly ten times larger than any other region. Growth is being fueled by rapid expansion in AI training, inference, and cloud computing workloads.
Despite uncertainty around trade policy, tariffs, and geopolitical tensions, Sajwani said Damac remains confident in the US investment environment, citing the country’s economic scale, resilience, and policy efforts to attract capital.
The US expansion follows Edgnex’s separate $3 billion commitment to data center projects in Southeast Asia, as Damac continues to diversify beyond its traditional real estate business into AI-driven digital infrastructure.
Why Damac Matters to MENA
Damac’s U.S. data center push highlights how Gulf capital is increasingly flowing into global AI infrastructure, not just regional projects. For MENA investors, the move signals a shift from traditional real estate toward power-intensive, long-duration digital assets tied to AI and cloud demand. It also reinforces the strategic advantage of energy-linked capital from the Gulf entering markets where electricity access has become the primary bottleneck for AI growth.
