The Emirates Development Bank (EDB) of the UAE has announced the approval of a trade finance facility to JLW Middle East, to design, build, and handover a 60 megawatts data centre with a day1 capacity of 31.8 MW, which will be located in Masdar City, Abu Dhabi.
Ahmed Mohamed Al Naqbi, CEO of EDB, and Michael Boufarhat, Chairman and CEO of JLW Middle East, signed the facility at JLW’s offices in Dubai.
As part of the contract, JLW will be responsible for the design, engineering, procurement, installation, testing, commission, and handover of the data centre.
Enhancing the UAE’s Digital Infrastructure
Ahmed Mohamed Al Naqbi expressed his support for the venture, saying that “a key element of EDB’s strategy to empower the national industrial sector through direct and indirect financing, is our focus on projects with a clear developmental impact on the economy and that facilitate the adoption of advanced technology.”
“The completion of a data centre in Masdar will enhance the UAE’s digital infrastructure and gradual transition to a fully-fledged digital economy which accelerates data sovereignty, possibilities of data analytics and other development in data-centric technologies in the UAE.”
He also added that in today’s technology-driven economy, data centres are vital not only to successful and continuous business operations, but also to the development of advanced technology ecosystems.
Michael Boufarhat affirmed JLW’s commitment to the deal, noting that “this is an important deal for JLW, as it means we are able to proceed on this project with the utmost confidence. As one of the few large specialist MEP contractors in the Middle East and North Africa region, we understand that accessing the right financing for this kind of undertaking can be a challenging and complex process, but EDB’s flexible and highly competitive solution will ensure we will meet our client’s exacting standards.”
“We are delighted to be putting our expertise to ensure the completion of all elements of this project to the highest standards in the industry and to deliver another landmark project for the UAE.”
Currently, the UAE is one of the largest data centre hubs in the Middle East. Notably, the UAE data centre market is poised to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 7.99% during a forecast period of 2022 to 2031. The UAE is also working towards installing 42 GW of renewable energy by 2050, with plans to add around 170 MW of power capacity during 2022 to 2031. As such, the Masdar data centre project will likely be a significant contributor to the UAE’s data centre industry, and bring the UAE a step closer to realising its ambitions.
“Connectivity & Innovation” is a sub-category under the “Outstanding Data Center Projects” awards category for this year’s W.Media Asia-Pacific Cloud & Datacenter Awards. Thinking of nominating or sponsoring? Visit our Awards Page for more information. Nominations are open until 31st July.
