Laing O’Rourke, a multinational engineering and construction company, has won a contract to design and build a 21.45MW data center and office building in Dubai for local firm Khazna Data Centres. The facility will be Laing O’Rourke’s fifth data center for Khazna in the Middle East.
The data center facility would consist of four distinct “pods,” each with two data halls totaling 5MW apiece, plus seven ancillary data halls totaling 1.45MW. It will be built on a 26,000m2 site.
The data center building’s design, engineering, procurement, construction, and commissioning, as well as the technical fit-out of each of the four pods and auxiliary data halls, are all included in Laing O’Rourke’s scope of work. A three-story office structure with what LOR refers to as a “enhanced façade” is also part of the deal.
The project will be built and certified in compliance with the Tier III design standards set forth by the Uptime Institute, allowing for maintenance without the need for a complete shutdown or equipment replacement.
The facility will also achieve LEED Gold certification for sustainability and aim for a power usage effectiveness (PUE) of less than 1.5, making it very efficient for the area.
According to Jason Lowe, general manager for Laing O’Rourke’s Middle East business, on this prominent data center project, they are thrilled to continue their long-standing customer relationship with Khazna. Clients benefit significantly from the integration of their Group’s design management, construction, MEP, and fit-out expertise into a single team in terms of delivery assurance.
For Kevin Ayling, senior director (technical programme management) for Khazna Data Centres, with this project, they are thrilled to continue working with Laing O’Rourke. The team demonstrated proven data center building quality and capability, and it submitted the best overall bid in terms of [health, safety & environment] and performance management.
Khazna is expected to receive the project’s first phase in September 2023, and the entire project should be finished by the first quarter of 2024.
